


A Shifting of Life

by Strailo



Series: A Shifting World [1]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Anal Sex, Canon-Typical Violence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Sexual Content, Genderbending, Het and Slash, Hurt/Comfort, Invasion, Multi, Oral Sex, Protective Ulquiorra, Rule 63, Seireitei Culture Building, Sex, Sexual Content, Sexual Fantasy, Sexual Tension, Shower Sex, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Violence, Yaoi - M/M, Yuri - F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-16
Updated: 2017-01-26
Packaged: 2018-01-25 05:51:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 46,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1634954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strailo/pseuds/Strailo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Ichigo is on the wrong side of one of Szayels experiments, he ends up a she...and trying to learn how to deal with it while he waits for the cure. *In Rewrite*</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Shifting of Life Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Title: The Shifting of Life  
> Chapter: Prologue  
> Fandom: Bleach  
> Word count: 631  
> AN: This…is a bunny that decided to settle it’s happy self in my mind. *sighs* So, have some Female!Ichigo! There will be some yaoi, some yuri, some het. Lots of interesting twists and turns.  
> So, I swear, you will get a taste of nearly everything in here, including some molesting of the Ichigo.  
> Yeah…  
> Enjoy the fruits of my twisted, twisted mind.
> 
> Edited: August 27, 2012

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Shifting of Life  
> Fandom: Bleach  
> Part: Prologue  
> Series: Shifting  
> Characters: Aizen, Gin, Ulquiorra, Ichigo, Szayel  
> Warnings: some violence  
> Word count: 811  
> AN: If you remember reading something different, you would be right! I went back and instead of just editing the hell out of this shit, I rewrote it! So, we have pretty much the same story just smoother and better. I hope you guys all enjoy this and remember, I still love reviews!
> 
> Just to note: at the time of this repost/posting, I have rewritten quite a few of the chapters including the side story that came along with it. All past reviews shall be moved to the new AN's and new ones shall be responded to on the last chapter. Thank you.
> 
> So do look forward to more rewritten chapters!
> 
> *~*~*~*

“You are gonna die, you pink haired bastard!” rang out through Los Noches. The words and the one stopped everyone in their tracks as a crash was soon followed by a scream of pain, a destroyed wall opening up the throne room. “You...you... _ perverted pink haired freak of a scientist! _ ”

 

Grimmjow, Aizen and Gin whipped around to stare at the destroyed wall, finding the twitching form of Szayelaporro before they turned their eyes to the hole in the wall. They noted that there were several walls that now had holes in them that sat between the science area and the throne room.

 

A surprisingly slim shape stalked into the throne room, climbing over the rubble as the dust settled, making the three men blink in surprise at finding Ulquiorra standing there. Green eyes gazed down at the form of his fellow Espada, glowing with anger. It was an emotion that was usually rarely seen in the calm Arrancar and made them wonder what had caused it before a smaller figure came up around him. The person usually seemed taller and wasn’t normally so curvy, and they were wearing what looked to be Ulquiorra’s shirt around their body as they snarled.

 

“ Please tell me that’s not Ichigo,” Grimmjow groaned, blinking at the well known bright orange hair and the brown eyes that sparkled with what they could only guess was righteous anger.

 

“ Well, I do believe that it is. I am now wondering what our dear Octavo has done to Ichigo-kun to turn  _ him _ into a  _ her _ ,” Aizen drawled. His eyes trailed over the lean body that seemed shorter than before, but wasn’t. He also had a few more curves than he had before then. His eyes glinted as he took in the hint of the perky breasts that lead down to a lean waist and bell hips. He had to smirk as he caught the growling sound that was coming from Ichigo, chocolate eyes turning topaz.

 

“ I am going to rip your dick off and see just how much you like it!” Ichigo screamed. His voice was a couple of octaves higher than it normally was. “What the hell did you do to me besides turn me into a fucking chick?!”

 

A soft groan was the only answer that came from Szayel turned onto his stomach, slowly healing as he tried to clear his head. He had actually forgotten just how strong the Cuarto Espada was, and being smacked once and sent through several walls had been far from kind to his body. Seething, Ichigo yanked the shirt that he was wearing tighter around him, trying to make sure that all the pertinent parts had been covered.

 

His mind turned back to how he had landed in the position he had been in. One minute, he had been napping in his room slash prison cell, and the next, he was waking up, strapped down to one of the tables in the freaks lab. He had found at that moment that he had lost vital bits to be considered a male. Instead, he had gained all of the right parts to be considered a female.

 

He was finding that the one good thing that had come out of all of it was that the idiot had taken off his suppressor cuff that had kept his reiatsu suppressed. Due to that, he had gotten free of his bindings, trying to attack Szayel, who had taken to hiding behind things as Ichigo had tried to get used to his new balance. Ulquiorra had simply followed the flares of power and the loud screaming.

 

He had taken one look at the now female Ichigo and saw how close he...no, now he was a she...she had been to breaking down and crying. The Fourth Espada had grabbed Szayel and slammed him through several walls and into the meeting room before handing Ichigo his shirt. They had followed after the flying body.

 

He found no need to add to her embarrassment after all.

 

Though, if Ichigo kept on stalking the way she was, she was going to end up flashing everyone around them. Coughing at the though, the pale Arrancar reached out and readjusted the top to sit better, shielding her with his own body. He looked over his shoulder and swept his eyes over the others to make sure that no one was trying to sneak up on them. He was acting oddly protective of her, having felt the same when Ichigo had been a male. His actions made the substitute shinigami stare at him with some curiosity.

  
Aizen, Gin, and Grimmjow were all just trying to figure out what was going on. And what they were going to do about the Shinigami that were fast approaching Los Noches. Not to mention what they were going to do with a now female Ichigo.

 

 


	2. A Shifting of Life 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Shifting of Life  
> Fandom: Bleach  
> Part: 1  
> Series: A Shifting World  
> Characters: Aizen, Gin, Ulquiorra, Ichigo, Szayel, Grimmjow  
> Warnings: some violence  
> Word count: 1,493  
> AN: First chapter rewritten and reposted. :D Please read the AN in the Prologue (when it's up on Y!gallery since I need to speak with the supermods about it) about what's going on. Thank you.
> 
> *~*~*~*

Ichigo shifted. “I need some pants,” she huffed as long fingered hands tugged and twitched at Ulquiorra’s shirt, tugging at the fabric to make sure that it would stay closed. Green eyes stared down at brown eyes as she raised an eyebrow, frowning lightly at the Arrancar. Ulquiorra finally nodded and looked over his shoulders.

 

“ Grimmjow, go and find a hakama for her. Harribel should have a set that would fit her,” Ulquiorra stated, getting a growl of displeasure from the panther Arrancar. 

 

“ What do you mean go find a hakama for her?” Grimmjow snapped, feeling his hackles rise. He always hated being ordered around by the other Espada, his eyes glowing brightly with his anger. Ichigo looked around her living screen and scowled at him.

 

“ Will you shut up? I need pants and I kind of have a feeling that Ulquiorra will not be so kind as to let you get away with not getting them for me,” Ichigo told the blue haired male. Her eyes slid towards where Szayel was slowly standing up with a slow pained grunt. “Hell, he shoved the freak over there through several, very thick walls just because he turned me into a female. On top of that, I have absolutely no urge to flash someone. Anyways, the faster that you find me a hakama, the faster you can get back to whatever it is you were up to with Aizen and Gin there. And just...stop leering over there, please, Gin. It’s kinda creepy right now.”

 

“ Aww, but Ichi-chan, you’re just so pretty,” Gin cooed at her. He got a rather dry look from the orange haired woman before a small piece of rock flew towards his head. Moving slightly to the left, a pout formed as the fox like man turned towards Aizen and sniffed as he tugged his sleeves down. “Aizen-sama, they’re bein’ mean ta me.”

 

“ I can see that, Gin. Do stop teasing Ichigo-san. And Grimmjow, do go get her some needed pants,” Aizen stated, sending the Sexta Espada a look. He got a growl as the blue haired male stood and stalked out of the throne room, muttering under his breath about bastards and being someone’s pet.

 

“ I really didn’t know that he was so submissive,” Ichigo muttered softly, starting Ulquiorra with her words. Looking down, he took in the rather innocent look that the substitute was sending up at him. “I”m naive about things, not stupid. Or blind,” she drawled, smiling sweetly and drawing a smirk from her taller companion.

 

“ So I see. Do your people know this fact?” he asked, Ichigo shaking her head.

 

“ Not a one. Well, maybe my dad, but then again, people will see only what they want to see. They either see me as a prude, an innocent, completely clueless virgin, or an asexual fighter. I just don’t really see the point of sex for anything outside of a real relationship, or with a close friend,” Ichigo said before he stopped and pulled a face. “Am I really having this conversation with someone who amounts to my prison guard?”

 

“ I do believe that ya are, Ichi-chan,” Gin chirped at him. His and Aizen’s eyes fairly glowed with their amusement. Ichigo just pulled a face once more and shook her head as she tapped one foot. She could finally feel the flares of power that were getting ever closer to them.

 

“ So, tell me, are they here to get me back or just to kill me?” she asked finally asked turning to look up at Ulquiorra. She missed the flare of distaste at the words that ‘kill me’ brought to green eyes.

 

“ My sources tell me that they are here to save you,” Aizen replied, finding himself rather amused by everything going on. Even though he really was displeased with the experimentation.

 

Sighing softly, Ichigo shook her head and contented herself with staring at Ulquiorra’s chest and the hollow hole in his chest as her mind spun around and around with thoughts. It was starting actually sink in that her body was that of a woman’s, that the pink haired bastard had indeed turned her into a female. Taking a deep breath, her eyes closing, Ichigo wiped a shaking hand over her face, finding that the skin around her eyebrows were sensitive. Running her fingers over the area, she found her eyebrows had been skillfully shaped.

 

“ I think I may need a mirror to,” she said as Grimmjow walked back into the meeting rooms with a pair of hakamas that looked as if they would fit. Her voice was soft, worried, and it made the four around her wonder just what was going on in her head. Nodding, Ichigo took the hakamas and tugged them on over her hips with a few careful movements, making sure that they wouldn’t fall off. “When are they going to get here?” she finally asked, stepping around her personal prison guard who had turned bodyguard.

 

Grimmjow snorted and tossed Ulquiorra a new top from his room, his eyes trailing over the male turned female as she walked over to the table. He watched as she took a seat and drew her feet up and off of the cool floor.

 

He had to admit to himself that even with the rest of her body like a females, her feet had always been delicate, even more so in her natural gender. The say way with her looks beyond them being softer. Her entire body was still fit and toned in a way that most women would kill for, her body having just the right curves that could make a man want to feel them under his hands. Ichigo’s eyes still flashed with her emotions, but they did so from under sculpted eyebrows and from a heart shaped face.

 

The inspired less than pure thoughts in a person’s mind.

 

‘ _ All around, she really drags your attention to her. Makes you wonder just what that body could do in the right situation _ ,’ Grimmjow mused as Aizen stood and moved to a seat near Ichigo. A Fraccion came into the meeting room with a teapot on a tray.

 

“ They should be arriving soon. Gin, do have someone gather Szayel’s notes on what he did to our dear Ichigo-chan. I believe that she’ll wish to read over them,” Aizen said, watching as the newly covered Ulquiorra stood behind Ichigo. Gin left with a nod, his wajari tapping on the ground. “As for those who are coming here, it shall only be an hour, I think. Perhaps less if they push it. I do believe that your large friend is coming with everyone.”

 

“ Sado? Really?” Ichigo asked, sitting up slightly as her eyebrows drew together. “I hope that he’s alright.”

 

“ He was looking just fine when I checked in on them before my wall was destroyed by a flying body,” Aizen drawled. He turned to look at said wall, Ichigo following his example with a cocked eyebrow.

 

“ I would say that I’m sorry, but then I would be lying to you,” Ichigo hummed, turning to the tea cup when it was placed before him.

 

“ Yes, best not to lie, my dear.”

 

“ Seriously, don’t call me that. Ever.”

 

“ Do forgive me,” Aizen said, smiling as he stirred a bit of sugar into his own cup of tea, tasting it. Ichigo snorted and played with her own cup, sighing quietly as boredom worked its way through her body. Wanting to kill some time and amuse herself, she took to taunting Grimmjow, only stopping when Gin walked back into the meeting room as Szayel finally dragged himself into a chair, not moving after that. Taking the notes with a nod of his head, she idly read through it, much to the scientists horror and the others amusement at the looks that flashed over her face. As a dark look settled on her face, they shifted out of the way, her eyes flashing and and a dusky color settling over her cheeks as she stood up slowly.

 

“ What is it that they say, Ichi-chan?” Gin asked. He was nearly dancing in his chair in glee at the pure murder on Ichigo’s face.

 

“ You...you…” Ichigo stuttered out, eyes filled with fury. “You turned me into a  _ girl _ because you wanted to  _ breed me? _ ”  she snarled out. The pink haired Arrancar shrugged, trying not to draw too much attention to himself.

 

“ Any child that you have will be a powerful, and if they are raised correctly, weapon for us,” he said. He whimpered with Ichigo’s reiatsu flared dangerously, her eyes once more topaz. The sound of the doors to the meeting room slamming open was drowned out by the screen of anger that Ichigo let loose.

 

“ You freak of a scientist! I’m gonna  _ gut _ you and  _ dance _ in your entrails!”

  
“ Ichigo!”

 

 


	3. A Shifting of Life 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Shifting of Life  
> Fandom: Bleach  
> Part: 2  
> Series: Shifting  
> Characters: Aizen, Gin, Ulquiorra, Ichigo, Szayel, Grimmjow, Renji, Unohana, Rukia, Rangiku, Sado, Kenpachi, Byakuya  
> Warnings: Ichigo's mouth and threats  
> Word count: 1,268  
> AN: Yes, I'm reposting 3 chapters this round. I have the time and can do so. Enjoy and reviews are always lovely. 
> 
> *~*~*~*

“I’m going to murder you, _brutally_ , you pink haired bastard!” Ichigo howled, lunging over the table. Or trying to, being stopped by Ulquiorra as he wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her back from attacking the Espada. The group that had stormed into the meeting room found themselves memorized by the growling, pissed off female Ichigo as she tried to reach for the cowering Arrancar. They mentally snorted at the fact that he was trying to sneer at her but failing miserably.

 

“Ichigo?” Renji finally asked, breaking the silence as his eyes trailed to the bouncing chest, quickly dragging his eyes up and away. ‘ _Who knew that Ichigo would have such a nice chest as a chick?_ ’ Renji thought to himself. He paused to wonder what the other would do to him if she ever found out just what he had thought about her.

 

He had a feeling that it would end up not being a pretty sight.

 

Shaking his head to clear it, Renji looked to his companions. Byakuya was staring at the group before them with surprised eyes, Rukia looking a little dazed next to him. Rangiku’s hands were looking as if they were squeezing something, and Sado stood behind her, just out of the doorway, unable to get around the group. Kenpachi just looked disappointed that he wasn’t getting to fight someone.

 

“Ichigo-chan, it seems as if your friends have arrived early,” Aizen cut in finally, most likely saving the Octavo Espada from a very gruesome death. Ichigo paused in mid-reach, one of her hands planted on the table while her other hand was curled into claws, looking over at the group in the doorway. She finally felt just how Ulquiorra was holding her back, his hips pressed tightly against her ass. Her face turned a fiery red color.

 

“You can let go of me now, ya know,” Ichigo squeaked, feeling Ulquiorra move back from her. She moved back with him, smoothing down her ruffled clothing when the strong arms around her waist released her. “You guys made some good time. Hey, where’s Zangetsu, Aizen?”

 

“I do believe that Gin has him,” Aizen replied, waving at the group in greeting. Gin moved to where the tall throne stood in the middle of the room and pulled out a long zanpaktou out from behind it with a smirk.

 

“Must ya leave us, Ichi-chan?” Gin asked the young woman teasing. Ichigo sent him a dry look as she huffed and crossed her arms.

 

“Must you call me that all the time? You called me Ichi-chan while I was a guy and now you’re still calling me Ichi-chan,” she grumped. “But yes, I want to be a guy again and I really don’t trust anyone but Urahara to turn me back. I do have to ask though, why are you letting me go?” she asked, looking to Aizen with a curious look on her face. Aizen just waved at her with one long fingered hand, a knowing look on his face.

 

“You have been turned into a female, against your will, and you need family and friends around you at this point in time,” the overlord said as Sado finally was able to get into the room.

 

Taking in Ichigo’s new form, he grunted in acceptance before he nodded to Ulquiorra for his help and swept his now female friend up into his arms, turning for the door. The Cuarto Espada simply followed after him with a bored look on his pale face.

“I believe that Ichigo-chan’s large friend has the right of it and you should be heading back now. I have an Espada to punish.”

Taking one look at the cowering pink haired Espada, the group nodded and quickly left, following after Sado and Ulquiorra silently. They were all trying to figure out what they were feeling at the moment about the fact that the _boy_ that they had all known was now a young _woman_. Renji’s eyebrow twitched as he focused on Ulquiorra, making him frown at the fact that he was joining them.

 

“What are we going to do about the Arrancar?” he asked, getting a blank look from Ulquiorra before he turned to face forward once more.

 

“Just leave him be. He’s the reason why I’m mostly unharmed. At least physically. He was the one who protected me from some of the idiots that run about the place, including the ever battle ready and perverted Grimmjow,” Ichigo stated, settling into Sado’s arms. “I can’t tell you how many times that damn panther tried to pounce on me when I was still a guy and alone. It got really annoying after the first two times.”

 

Sighing, she tugged at her shirt and made sure that it wasn’t opening up to flash the world her newfound chest. She really didn’t want to admit it, but even though she was still kind of small compared to her friends, her new chest was also throwing her off balance. So she couldn’t find it in her own heart to protest when her large friend had picked her up and carried her out of the door.

Though she had a funny feeling that Ulquiorra would have ended up doing the same thing if Sado hadn’t been the one to do it. “Anyways, he’s with me and I have a feeling that if you try to stop him from protecting me that he’ll enjoy being able to cut you down.”

“We will speak with the new sou-taicho and see what she has to say about it,” Byakuya cut in, shooting Renji a dark look when he opened his mouth to protest his decision.

 

“And we all know she likes me,” Ichigo hummed. She smiled sweetly as she kicked a leg back and forth a bit.

 

“Of course she likes ya over us. Ya don’t try ta run away from treatment, Kenpachi snorted. He tried to steal looks around Sado’s form at Ichigo’s new body. Once they were far enough away from Los Noches, Byakuya opened the portal to Soul Society and allowed them to step through, being greeted by Unohana-sou-taicho and the rest of those who knew and cared about Ichigo.

 

“Oh dear. What has happened?” Unohana asked the moment that she caught sight of Ichigo, who just waved at her with a sheepish smile.

 

“Well, Pinky in Los Noches got the really bright idea to breed me. He’s kind of moving a bit stiffly now but Aizen was going to take care of him and I need to speak with Urahara,” Ichigo stated from her place in Sado’s arms. She smiled sheepishly and waved.

 

“Do you have any of his information?” the healer turned leader asked. She smiled when Ulquiorra held up the papers. “Then I will just have to give you a full exam to make sure things are okay, and then we’ll all meet up to discuss what will happen in about three hours,” Unohana told the group. Turning, she lead Sado and Ulquiorra off to the Fourth Division, Renji making a surprised sound behind them.

 

“What are we going to do with him?” he asked, drawing Unohana’s eyes to him before she turned to stare at the Espada.

  
“I’m sure that he will have no trouble staying with Ichigo. And that she will have no trouble with taking responsibility of him,” she told them, smiling sweetly at them before waving a hand. They weren’t surprised at all. After all, as Ichigo had told them, Unohana liked her.


	4. A Shifting of Life 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Shifting of Life  
> Fandom: Bleach  
> Part: 3  
> Series: Shifting  
> Characters: various  
> Warnings: Ikkaku's foot is abused  
> Word count: 1372  
> AN: If you are rereading this: Wow! Thank you just so much for reading this. Seriously. I wouldn't have expected anyone to take the time to read and review this, especially since it's undergoing such a heavy rewrite to fit in new details and to smooth things out. Again, thank you.
> 
> For now though, enjoy!
> 
> *~*~*~*

It was three hours after the arrival of a now female Ichigo, and those who cared about her in some way, or knew of her, found themselves standing in the meeting room staring at her. She was tugging lightly at her borrowed kosode as she looked up through her lashes at them. Ichigo had known that they would find her interesting considering everything going on but some of the looks sent at her made her uncomfortable.

 

Mayuri had a rather creepy gleam in his eyes that just screamed that he wanted to do nothing more than to experiment on her. Nemu, who stood next to him, looked as close as she could to committing patricide before everyone there.

 

Byakuya and Renji had by that time gotten used to the fact that Ichigo had a female body, as had those who had come with them. Sado had decided to just stick close to his friend.

 

Soi-Fon on the other hand had a barely there blush on her face and wasn’t looking directly at Ichigo. Hitsugaya looked a lot like he wasn’t very sure as to what to do at the moment.

 

Kira was standing next to them, blinking rapidly as Hanataro waved a fan next to him to help keep him from fainting. The large fox like taicho, Komamura, was standing stock still, which wasn’t that unusual for him.

 

Shuuhei stood next to Iba and was exchanging looks with him. Both of them men trying to figure out if they should go with the lust that they were feeling for the female Ichigo or if they should storm Los Noches and kill the Espada who had created the mess.

 

Yumichika was smilingly lightly next to his taicho as he played a finger over his bottom lip. Ikkaku was just flat out leering at her from next to the beauty obsessed male.

 

Shunsui was trying to hide his face fully under his straw hat while Jushiro alternated between teasing him and smoothing a hand over his arm.

 

Ulquiorra pulled Sado to stand outside and made sure that no one who wasn’t supposed to be in the room was able to get into said room. They swept their eyes over any Shinigami that came too close to the door, scaring them into leaving quickly. They had wanted to be inside with Ichigo but she had convinced them to go with Unohana’s idea of them standing outside for the time being.

 

When all was said and done, they would be able to go back to her.

 

Ichigo huffed under her breath and shook her head, crossing her arms up and under her chest, shorting out a few of the male’s minds as the move pushed her breasts up, straining her kosode just a bit. She suddenly found herself with a pink blur attaching itself to her, forcing her to wrap her arms around the tiny bundle of energy.

 

“Ichi-chan is really, really pretty now!” was all Yachiru had to say about it. The words drew a soft smile out of Ichigo, always having a soft spot for the young girl. She ran her fingers through the soft pink hair and got a beaming smile.

 

“So, tell us, what’s going to happen now?” Rangiku finally asked, breaking the silence. Ichigo just sat down on the steps that lead up to Unohana’s seat, arranging Yachiru in her lap.

 

“Both Urahara-san and Kurosaki-kun have been contacted and they will be coming to the Seireitei as soon as Yuzu-san gathers a few things for Ichigo-chan,” Unohana replied. She watched as Ichigo calmed herself by playing with Yachiru’s hair, a thoughtful expression of the fiery headed female’s face. “She will be staying, for the time being, here in Soul Society. Ichigo-chan, who would you feel most comfortable with at this time?” she asked the orange haired woman, chocolate eyes turning to her.

 

“I can see the question, and no, I don’t feel very comfortable with staying with Rukia right now. As much as I care for her, I really don’t like the servants who work at the Kuchiki manor. If Rangiku doesn’t mind, I would enjoy staying with her in her fukutaicho’s home,” Ichigo stated. She looked to the busty woman, getting a bright smile and a nod.

 

“I’ll send a hell butterfly to you when your father and Urahara-san arrives. Until then, Matsumoto-fukutaicho, can you please lead Ichigo-san to your home?” Unohana asked her. Rangiku saluted her with a smile.

 

“Yes, sou-taicho. Come on, Ichi-chan, I’ll show ya the way,” the redhead chirped. She patiently waited as Ichigo put Yachiru onto her feet, watching as she stood and brushed off her ass. Watching Ichigo walk over to her, she smirked as her friend paused by Ikkaku and stomped on his foot with a scowl.

 

“Will you stop leering, you pervert? You have a in...well you know who,” Ichigo huffed, watching as the bald male hopped up and down on a foot, holding his other foot as he cursed. “That should teach you to stare.” Feeling better, she turned back to Rangiku and smiled as they left the meeting room, Rangiku chirping about her access to some ‘kick ass hot springs’, Ichigo agreeing with a sigh of anticipation as her two shadows followed them.

 

Ikkaku went stock still at the sigh that he barely heard, the only one beyond Rangiku and Ichigo’s bodyguards hearing it. Yumichika shook his head in amusement and walked over to the other male, poking at Ikkaku’s shoulder to watch him go down with a bored look.

 

“We are to treat Ichigo-chan just the same as we ever have, you idiot. Just because he is now a she does not mean that she had changed in personality or her skills. No doubt Yoruichi-san will end up training her to fight in her new body while Urahara-san creates a cure for her,” the braided soutaicho stated, her fingers tapping on her knee as she looked over the shinigami before her.

 

“Why is it he is requesting Urahara? I know I could do the work much faster if I just had a bit of time to examine the substitute Kurosaki,” Mayuri protested, stepping forward.

 

“I highly doubt that Kurosaki-san would let you even _think_ about letting you close enough to get her height much less close enough to do a test,” Byakuya stated. He sent the Twelfth Division taicho a dry look and got a snarl in return from the man.

 

“He’d...ah fuck. She’d gut you with Zangetsu before she even let you within ten feet of her,” Renji snorted, getting a few knowing snickers from the others.

 

“I am afraid that I have to agree with Abari-san, as crude as he said it,” Unohana stated. She gave Mayuri a warning look filled with dire consequences backing it up. “You will not do anything to endanger Ichigo-san, do you understand? And should you come near her and she attacks, she will be well within her rights.”

 

“Yes, sou-taicho,” the scientist snarled before he returned to his place in line.

 

“I do have a request for those of you who Ichigo-chan trusts. I wish for you to teach her how the Seireitei works. Both the Shinigami culture and the laws that we run by,” Unohana said, standing up and nodding to everyone before her. “There is much that is missing in her education about us and the last sou-taicho was happy to let it stand in hopes of giving him a reason to cut Ichigo-chan down.We do not operate like that now. She will be taught everything about us, but she is also willing to teach us about the human world. We will need those teachings to better work in the field and mingle with them when we do our jobs,” she stated. With one last sweep of her eyes, she dismissed everyone.

 

The Shinigami that were leaving found that their minds were spinning with what was happening and how things were looking to happen. Those who liked Ichigo all had to agree on one thing though.

 

It was going to be very interesting to be able to teach Ichigo just how they lived and loved.

 

 


	5. A Shifting of Life 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Shifting of Life  
> Fandom: Bleach  
> Part: 4  
> Series: Shifting  
> Characters: Rangiku, Ichigo  
> Warnings: **Girl on Girl Sex**  
>  Word count: 1,900  
> AN: I am seriously getting through these chapters, really I am. *nods* I have something like 16 chapters fully rewritten. I'm just taking my sweet time reposting where I can and when I can. So be patient with me.
> 
> I hope you like though. :D
> 
> *~*~*~*

Sliding down into the hot water with a soft sigh, Ichigo pushed a bit of hair from her face as she clung to her towel, not really wanting to have it slip and flash Rangiku. At the moment, despite everything going on, she was feeling a bit shy about her new body, especially with her friend nearly bursting out of her own towel.

 

Settling down into the water, the readhead trailed her fingers through the water as her companion took a seat near her, her long hair pulled up and out of the way. Brown eyes turned to Rangiku and took in her looks, finding herself comparing their looks. Her friend was undeniably beautiful, a balanced combination of looks, attitude, and power. She felt like a swan chick that was next to an actual swan, but without the added benefit that came with growing into a swan herself.

 

Then again, she had often felt like that next to her male friends when she had been a he. She had found herself surrounded by gorgeous people and Ichigo often wondered just why Orihime had a crush on her with so many other wonderful options offered.

 

“ Rangiku, can you tell me why Orihime would want to crush on me when there are so many people around her that would give their left kidney to date her?” Ichigo blurted out. Rangiku stared at her with wide eyes, tilting her head to the side, drawing a blush from her. “What? It’s not like I’m blind to things. Orihime can’t hide her feelings or lie her way out of a paper bag and we all know it.”

 

“ I never thought that you could see how badly she’s crushing on you. everyone told me that you were blind to it,” Rangiku said, fixing her towel as she eyed the swell of Ichigo’s chest. She was idly wondering just how her breasts would feel in her hands. It was always so hard for her to find a good female lover who had a chest just the right size for her tastes. Pushing aside those thoughts for the time being, Rangiku watched as Ichigo scowled, making her wonder if she could just kiss it away. 

 

Sighing to herself, she forceably cleared her thoughts and turned her attention to her companion.

 

“ Just like I told Ulquiorra, I am naive, but I am not completely innocent. Or blind,” Ichigo huffed, shaking her head and pulling her towel up again.

 

“ And just where is your bodyguard anyways?” Rangiku asked. She looked around them, trying to find the Arrancar.

 

“ He’s fussing around with my room. He said something about wards and perverts,” Ichigo replied, splashing her friend with a bit of water. “And you haven’t answered my question yet.”

 

“ Right, about Orihime and her crush on you.” Tapping at her bottom lip, Rangiku wondered just how to tell the other woman that she had been gorgeous as a male, her scowl included. But now as a woman she was a bombshell with curves and muscles. And the power that she wielded so easily made her just that much more appealing.

 

“ Well?” Ichigo prompted. She blushed softly as Rangiku moved closer to her and tugged her towel up again.

 

“ Ichigo-chan, sweety, you are really probably, hands down, the most delectable person out there. Male or female. And it’s not just lust that a lot of us feel for you. We want you because you’re you. I bet that if you walked up to someone who knows you and asked them to go out with you, they’d jump at the chance. Ask anyone if they want to fuck you six ways to Sunday, and they would drop everything to show you the time of your life,” Rangiku stated. “Hell, I bet that if they have lovers, they’ll drag them in for the date or for the sex.” She watched as Ichigo’s eyes went wide and a blush steal over her sweet cheeks. Reaching out, the older woman gently brushed her fingers over the redness and smiled softly at her friend, moving closer to her. “You should know by now that Shinigami don’t judge others by gender or looks. We’ll lay and date whoever ends up appealing to us. Orihime is a human and was raised as such. She’s expected to marry a strong young man and have a bunch of bouncy babies, even in the day and age you live in.”

 

“ But the shinigami doesn’t have those constraints do they?” Ichigo breathed out as she stared at her friend. Rangiku was rather pleased to note that the young woman hadn’t pushed her away yet, but was breathing heavily, her pupils blown wide.

 

Ichigo shifted in place and wondered at the fact that she was feeling the heavy curl of lust that worked its way through her body and settled low in her groin. Most forgot, but she was a teen, and not an asexual one at that. She had fun on her own, had experimented to learn her body and what turned her on, had felt attraction to others, and so on like any normal teen. But Aizen kidnapping her for nearly six months had put the kibosh on any arousal or need to explore.

 

On top of that, she had been a male and arousal hadn’t felt so...rich.

 

“ Nope. As you know, we can die any day at any time. So why constrain ourselves? Hell, even those who have steady lovers tend to draw others into their bedroom lives to change things up. We don’t really have to worry about getting knocked up right off the bat since it takes a lot of power,” Rangiku hummed as she stroked her hand down over the younger woman’s neck, her eyes watching as Ichigo dropped her head back and gasped. “Though for you, since you’re still technically alive, it might be easier.”

 

“ Unohana-san made sure that she gave me something to stop that. Just in case I can get pregnant,” Ichigo sighed, getting a smirk from her friend.

 

“ Well, that’s good then,” Rangiku purred. She shifted closer and slid her hand lower, brushing her fingers along the edge of her towel, giving Ichigo every chance to pull away from her.”Ichigo, will you let me touch you?”

 

Looking to the other woman, Ichigo smiled and nodded, blushing an even deeper read as her towel was tugged open, leaving her nude before the busty woman. Rangiku smiled soothingly and coaxed her to sit on the edge of the spring, her eyes taking in the smoothed, wet body before her. Looking down,s he blinked in surprise as her fellow redhead pulled her legs together and up.

“ Who shaved you? I hope it wasn’t the freak was it?” the other woman asked, Ichigo shaking her head.

 

“ Nah. I was already shaved actually. Most of my pants make it really hard to have hair down there,” Ichigo admitted.

 

“ I really don’t mind in the least bit,” Rangiku drawled as she danced her fingers over the swell of her new lover’s breast. The smaller female gasped, her chest pressing up into the touch. Smiling at the rather innocent response, the older woman continued to tease the other’s chest, tracing the curve of one full breast, down to brush them over the ribs just beneath it, watching as her flesh broke out in goosepimples. A light blush started to work its way over the creamy skin, nearly following the path that Rangiku’s hands were taking.

 

Moving forward, she brushed their noses together before pressing her lips to soft, sweet ones, licking at them gently, drawing a soft sound out of Ichigo. Dipping her tongue into the sweet mouth, Rangiku taught her companion the joys of kissing another person.

 

Mewling as long fingered hands pulled her own towel away, Rangiku pulled back from the kiss, licking her lips. Letting her towel slide into the water, she moved to nibble at her lover’s neck, finding any spots that got sounds as Ichigo’s hand slowly moved over soft skin. She smirked as one of her hands brushed over a perky breast, cupping it with a knowing hand and watching as Ichigo pressed into the touch as she stroked and tugged at the dusky nipple with her fingers.

 

“ Such a perfect, wonderful breast, Ichigo,” the redhead moaned as she used her other hand to tease the lean body before her. “Can you lay back and get comfortable for me?” she asked. Nodding, Ichigo pulled her towel from the pool and laid it out so that she could lay back.

 

Looking down her body, she blushed against as Rangiku crawled up to stand on the seating of the hot spring and spread her legs with a toned thigh, barely brushing up against against Ichigo’s center. Jerking at the barely there touch, the redhead rocked a bit, her own legs squeezing around the thigh between them. The wet sensation there along with the tingling that spread through her was so much stronger than what she had felt as a male learning on his own.

 

Rangiku purred in delight as she captured Ichigo’s other nipple between her teeth, gently nibbling at the peaked bud. Making sure that she had her footing, the busty woman worked her hands down over the body that was responding oh so wonderfully for her.

 

She quickly found a spot that sat just below heaving ribs that drew out a shiver, and another spot just above the back of her knee that made the wetness against her thigh that much wetter. Rangiku followed the path that her hands had taken, always teasing a spot to distract her when Ichigo went to reciprocate. She could feel her own arousal become heightened just by the sounds and feeling of having the beautiful shinigami under her. She had a feeling that if Ichigo was able to touch her, she wouldn’t be able to last very long, and at the moment it was all about Ichigo.

 

Dragging her tongue down over one hip, Rangiku decided to wait to do anything that concerned oral, especially as she took in her lover, she noted that Ichigo was on that edge already. Feeling smug about that fact, the older woman slid a hand over Ichigo’s inner thigh before sliding against wet skin, purring quietly as the smaller woman arched up with a shudder, yelping in surprise. Parting the wet folds, Rangiku found Ichigo’s slick entrance, stroking over it for long moments before she pressed it inwards, thumb brushing against the other woman’s clit.

 

The scream and shuddering body that came apart under her own finally got to Rangiku, her own body shuddering as she came, eyes fluttering closed. She was surprised through the fog of pleasure in her mind at feeling Ichigo’s leg between her own and rubbing at her own core.

 

Gently removing her finger, Rangiku stood and pulled Ichigo back down into the water, holding the shivering woman close as she stroked down over her back. Moving Ichigo so that she could rest her hand on her breast, she smoothed back damp hair, smiling softly.

 

“ Wow,” Ichigo finally chuckled, curling close to her older friend, feeling her laugh softly.

 

“ Oh yes, indeed wow. You should try it with a guy sometime,” Rangiku teased gently.

  
“ Maybe I will later,” came the hummed reply.

 

 

 

 


	6. A Shifting of Life 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Shifting of Life  
> Fandom: Bleach  
> Part: 5  
> Series: A Shifting World  
> Characters: Rangiku, Ichigo, Ulquiorra, Urahara, Isshin  
> Warnings: Talking about sexual things  
> Word count: 1,230  
> AN: Last repost for tonight. I hope you guys all enjoy this. I really do. Hugs and what not. Oh! I'm rather proud of myself. I've gotten all chapters under 1K up and over that 1K. At least those chapters that I've gotten to. Again, I've only gotten about 16 of the chapters rewritten.
> 
> For now, Enjoy!
> 
> *~*~*~*

Walking into the bedroom that had been given to her, her robe pulled tight around her body, Ichigo blinked at the sight of Ulquiorra meditating near the window where late afternoon light was filtering through. The sun placed over the remains of his mask, giving it a slightly bleached out look while his hair glowed darkly under the light.

 

Taking a closer look around her room, Ichigo picked up her borrowed clothes from where they had been placed on the dresser by someone, most likely Ulquiorra, before she stepped behind a changing screen.

 

Laying them out on the chair behind the screen that was waiting for her, Ichigo wiggled out of her robe, blushing at the fact that her skin was still very sensitive from her previous activities in the hot springs. Shaking the thoughts of what she had done with Rangiku out her mind for the moment, she pulled on the rather simple sleeping kimono and made sure that the obi was tied around her waist properly. She left the extra shinigami outfit on the chair for the next day.

Pausing for a moment at the edge of the screen, she walked back to the chair and picked up the outfit, eyeing it. She guessed that either Nemu or Rangiku had been the ones who had loaned it to her. It was possible it had been one of Rangiku’s that was too small for her. Or at least smaller than the rest of her outfits that was.

 

Fully walking out from behind the screen she squealed in surprise at finding Ulquiorra standing right next to the screen, grabbing at her chest as her heart thumped rapidly. She blinked up at the Arrancar a few times as she got back under control.

 

“You had sex with the woman that we are staying with,” the green eyed male said, sniffing delicately. He watched with hidden amusement as Ichigo went scarlet.

 

“How did…?” she asked before trailing off, not sure on how to word her question to the tall male that continued to gaze at her with cool green eyes.

 

“It is your scent. It’s sweeter, but still pure. This means that you were with another female without any type of sexual toy. The only female that you were around for the last hour was Matsumoto-san,” he replied, standing up and brushing some imaginary dirt from pants. He raised an eyebrow at his suddenly very shy charge as she hid her face in her hands. “Sexual need is very natural, Kurosaki-san, and fulfilling that desire is healthy for you. Even the Arrancar often indulge in sexual intercourse when the need arises. I have slept with both Grimmjow and Starrk. Multiple times. I do believe though that Harribel is the only one that is to stay exclusively with females though.”

 

Looking up at Ulquiorra, Ichigo tried to rein in her blush as she quickly sat down onto the futon, brushing her fingers through still damp hair. She was starting to feel slightly dizzy with all of the new information being thrown after her.

 

“I know that it’s natural, but when you’re so damn blunt about it, it can be rather embarrassing,” she sighed. She looked up at the other with soft eyes. “And add that to being turned into a woman and not being able to do anything that any normal male would want to while in custody…” She trailed off. “It still means that I’m off balance from all of the changes. This includes everything that Aizen told me while I was there.” Walking over to where Ichigo sat, the pale Arrancar sat down next to her and smoothed a bit of her hair down, noticing that it seemed tamer with her as a female. It wasn’t sticking up every which way as it had with her male body.

 

“A lot has been happening to you in the last few months. I am rather surprised that you haven’t broken down completely and either cried or destroyed everything,” the Cuatro Espada said, blinking in surprise as Ichigo laid her head onto his shoulder. He hadn’t expected so much trust to come from her, especially since he was still technically the enemy of Soul Society and most of his friends.

 

“I did break down, while I was with Unohana-san. A good hour of that exam was spent with me soaking her braid in tears.” Her voice was soft as she looked up through her lashes, watching as Ulquiorra frown and search her face for any signs of tears shed. “She got rid of the red and puppy eyes. Said I shouldn’t show my weakness until after I know how others will react to this,” she told him.

 

Nodding his head, the Espada patted her head before he turned to the bedroom door as he felt the spiritual energy of two very powerful people walk up to it. Finding that Ichigo had felt what he had but was unconcerned with the people, he stood up and walked over to it as someone knocked on it. Opening the door, Ulquiorra was met by the sight of two men, one blond and one scruffy with black hair, standing behind Rangiku who carried a rather large bag. Looking down, the Arrancar noticed that there were three more large bags sitting around their feet. They most likely carried clothing for Ichigo among other things that she would most likely need.

 

“You must be Ichigo-san’s father,” he finally said in greeting, looking to the dark haired man.

 

“Yep. I’m Kurosaki Isshin and you would be?” Isshin asked, eyeing the hollow hole in Ulquiorra’s neck with some curiosity.

 

“Shiffer Ulquiorra, the Cuatro Espada and Ichigo-san’s bodyguard,” Ulquiorra replied as he stepped back away from the doorway. “She shall be pleased to see you. Urahara-san, I suppose that you were given the information that we gathered from Szayel?” he asked. He got a nod from the subdued blond as the three brought the bags into the room.

 

Once he had placed the duffle bag in his hand down, Isshin found himself with an armful of brand new daughter, running his fingers through soft hair as he made soothing sounds.

Shooing the other two out of the room, Ulquiorra closed the door behind them, letting father and daughter reconnect. He would be near should they need him, but he doubted that they would and he really doubted that Kurosaki Isshin would let anything to his child, female or male.

 

“Urahara-san, I will go over the information that we collected from Szayel with you. I know that he has a tendency to code certain things,” Ulquiorra stated, following behind them.

 

“That sounds just perfect actually. Thank you, Ulquiorra-san,” Urahara chirped, his every present fan coming out to wave before his face.

 

“Hey, Ulquiorra-san, I have to ask you this. Why do you add honorifics to some names but not to other names?” Rangiku asked. The dark haired Arrancar blinked down at her before raising an eyebrow at the question.

 

“I add them according to what Ichigo has told me about each person. She respects you, her father, Urahara-san, and a few others. Though, while she does respect Urahara-san, she also considers him a pervert of some magnitude,” Ulquiorra stated.

  
“Hey!” Urahara protested, looking affronted and causing Rangiku to burst into laughter.


	7. A Shifting of Life 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Shifting of Life  
> Fandom: Bleach  
> Part: 6  
> Series: A Shifting World  
> Characters: Rangiku, Ichigo, Ulquiorra, Urahara, Isshin  
> Warnings: More talking  
> Word count: 1,984  
> AN: And it's time to repost some more of these chapters. I hope that you guys are enjoying the new rewrites and that it is looking much smoother. Remember, once I finish rewriting this story, I'll be working on the sequel. But I'll also be rewriting Finding a Bit of Trust.
> 
> Which should be fun...yeah.
> 
> Anyways! Enjoy!
> 
> *~*~*~*

“Ichigo, let’s sit down for the moment,” Isshin said softly, walking them over to her bed. Sitting down, he held his shaking daughter close, amazed at how vulnerable she was acting. He hadn’t seen his child, son or daughter, be so vulnerable since they had lost her mother. Smoothing his hand up and down the lean back, Isshin felt her slowly stop trembling, relaxing into him with a sniffle. “Talk to me, Ichigo. What happened?”

 

“ Well, you know how I was kidnapped after that one fight? Apparently it was because Aizen wanted to tell me about why he was trying to take over Soul Society and why he was backing down to just watch how things were going. At least since Unohana-san took over as sou-taicho,” Ichigo sighed as she sat up, wiping away her tears that had escaped. “During my time there, I was watched over Ulquiorra, who nearly glued me to his side after Nnoitra had the grand idea of attacking me right after I was declared off-limits.”

 

“ Outside of that probably very stupid attack, did they treat you well?” Isshin asked, her making a note to destroy the one who had dared to attack his eldest child.

 

“ Yeah, they did. At least until yesterday when I apparently ended up drugged and changed into a girl by Szayel for his breeding needs. Since my soul is still connected to my body, I’m still half alive in some odd way. Thus I’m able to get knocked up real easily as long as I have the proper parts,” she replied before she ran a hand through her hair, looking up at her father. “Think about slow murder later.” The drawled words made Isshin blink down at her before he smiled softly and ruffled her hair.

 

“ Moving on, your body is at Urahara’s shoten right now. It also looks very much like a female. Yuzu and Karin used it to make sure that they had bought the right sized clothing for you by the way. They also packed up your IPod and laptop so you can use them. Sado has already promised me to collect your homework for school and will make sure to send it to you via e-mail. Urahara set it all up for you so you can connect to the Living World internet,” Isshin stated, pointing to the bags that they had come with. The soft smile was very worth all of the shopping, even as Ichigo stood up and walked over to start sifting through her bags. She put her IPod and e-book readers down next to her bed.

 

“ Thanks, dad,” she said, walking to him and hugging him tightly. He idly mused that she was a lot like her mother and Yuzu as a woman.

 

“ You’re welcome, child. You do know how to put on a bra right?” Isshin asked, watching as Ichigo go red before she grabbed a pillow and attacked him with it.

 

“ And just who do you think had to explain the damn things to the girls? You sure as hell couldn’t!” Ichigo yelled, diving for the bags finally, finding fresh clothes in them. Shaking her head, she collected a pair of panties, bra, pants, and a shirt, sending her father a look until he smiled and moved to face the door as Ichigo once more move to stand behind the screen.

 

Pulling off the borrowed sleeping kimono, she redressed in her new clothes, only fumbling a bit with the bra as she got it to sit comfortably. Gazing into the vanity mirror as she stepped around the screen once more, she missed the soft look that Isshin had on his face at the sight of her. Walking over to his daughter, he pressed a kiss to her head, hugging her close with a sigh.

 

“ I swear that you look so much like your mother at this moment,” he said softly, smoothing her hair down as she looked at him. “She looked a lot like you when I had first met her. I just never noticed it before because you were always scowling at me, never showing your softer side,” he told her, getting a sweet smile.

 

“ Yeah, I suppose I just never really thought I should show it. Right now, I’m blaming all of the changes that have been going on,” Ichigo huffed as she shook her head. Isshin laughed softly and ruffled her hair before the two put up the rest of her things. Ichigo swatted him away with a blush when it came to her intimates.

 

“ I still have to figure out what I’m going to tell everyone,” Ichigo finally said as she once more flopped onto the bed, playing with a pair of tennis shoes that she had found. “At least Unohana-san isn’t making me wear the female uniform for the moment. I had to ask for her help with some of the extra pieces.”

 

“ I have no doubt that she doesn’t want you to have to get used to clothes that would be a bit more complicated than needed while you’re getting used to a new body. Especially since the new body hopefully won’t last long,” Isshin said, leaning against the dresser. “I did hear that you’re going to be learning about the Seireitei and how it all works finally. Along with all of the new laws that are being put into place and old laws that are being overturned.”

 

“ Yeah. Rangiku actually already explained a few things earlier. I now know that Mayuri now has to have permission to do any kind of research on anything or anyone out there unlike before. He can’t get away with murder now,” Ichigo sang. She smirked at the thought of how that had probably pissed the man off and the tantrum he had probably thrown. “He’s also being investigated for sending hollows after Uryu’s grandfather to.”

 

“ Mayuri... That would be Urahara’s old third seat right? He was always pushing the boundaries between right and wrong, even then,” Isshin sighed.

 

“ And now he is finding himself on a choke chain that is held by the scariest taicho around.” The words finally getting to father and daughter, they found themselves bursting into laughter, leaning against each other as they enjoyed the release that it gave them.

 

Walking out of the bedroom, having taken a couple of hours just to talk about what was going on, Ichigo snickered as she watched Rangiku try to flirt with the ever stoic Ulquiorra. The Espada was trying to just ignore her, one of his eyebrows twitching as he sipped the tea that someone had made while Urahara watched with a laughing glint in his eyes.

 

“ Rangiku, can you leave Ulquiorra-san alone?” Ichigo asked, her voice husky from her crying jag. The sound of it made Ulquiorra look up quickly and look to her. She smiled soothingly as Rangiku pouted and moved to sit next to Urahara, brushing her hair back. Ichigo sat next to the pale Arrancar as Isshin sat in a comfortable chair.

 

“ So, tell us, what’s the plan?” Rangiku chirped as she poured the two tea, handing a cup over to Ichigo and then one to Isshin.

 

“ Well to start, I plan on opening my old personal labs up and getting them into something of a working order. That should only take me an hour or so, Ichigo-chan,” Urahara said, placing his tea cup to the side. “From what I can gather from the notes, he messed with your chromosomes, suppressing, at best, what makes you a male. It’s also connected to your reiatsu since he did this while you were out of your body.”

 

“ So we get to wait while you try to figure out how to turn me back?” Ichigo asked, getting a nod and a bright smile from her mentor. “Goody.”

 

“ Why didn’t the freak who did this create an antidote just in case something went sideways?” Rangiku asked as she sat back and crossed her legs. Her face looked serious as Ichigo shook her head.

 

“ For others maybe, but not me. The pink haired bastard was going to use me as a way to breed super warriors,” Ichigo growled. Ulquiorra shifted closer to her before going back to relaxing in his seat. “I’ll tell everyone what had gone on while I was at Los Noches once everyone has gotten here. I think I saw Ikkaku heading towards the gates to get my friends so they can hear what happened,” she explained, leaning back in her own seat until she slumped down in her seat. Urahara subtly eyed the lean body before he dragged his eyes away, catching Isshin’s knowing look. Smiling slightly, the man shrugged and raised his tea cup to his lips before he sipped at it.

 

“ Yoruichi-chan will be around sometime tomorrow afternoon. She has a few things that she wants to get and to do before she comes here,” Urahara chirped.

 

“ Do you think that she would mind if Isane and i help with Ichigo’s training?” Rangiku asked him, playing with her necklace. “Especially since she’s gonna have to relearn how to balance while fighting not to mention relearning swordplay. It’s going to be a bitch and she could use all the help possible.”

 

“ And why exactly am I going to be training?” Ichigo asked them, not bothering to lift her head from the back of the couch.

 

“ Mostly it’s a just in case thing. It’ll also help with those general balance problems that you’re probably experiencing. Especially since it’s been nearly nine hours since you got back and I’ve seen you nearly over balance five different times without really showing it,” Isshin chuckled. He had to smile at his child who was pouting at him. “It’ll help, I promise.”

 

“ Fine,” Ichigo huffed before lifting her head and pouting at her chest. “How do women do it?”

 

“ Unlike you, Ichi-chan, we have time to find our balance as our chests grow,” Rangiku giggled, winking at the blushing red head.

 

“ Of course it had to be because mine were grown over a few hours instead of years. Probably didn’t 

help that I was knocked out and strapped to a table,” Ichigo huffed, shaking her head with a frown. Turning to Ulquiorra with a curious look on her face, she asked, “How was he able to get to me to do this anyways? I’m still blurry on that fact.”

 

Ulquiorra put his tea cup down as he answered her question. “I had left your suite in Los Noches to get you tea for a headache that had formed after dealing with Grimmjow.” Sitting back once more, he frowned. “Szayel more than likely grabbed you while you were resting in bed. I found you as you woke up later.” Sighing softly, Ichigo laid her head back onto the couch once more as Isshin muttered about finding the pink haired bastard.

 

“ Tell me this, when do I get to start training?” she asked after a few minutes, leaning into the stoic male next to her and closing her eyes.

 

“ Day after tomorrow would be best. For tonight, we’ll rest and talk, and tomorrow, you’ll get to tell every just what happened while at Los Noches and what has happened,” Urahara stated. His face was thoughtful as he tapped his fan onto his knee. “I’m hoping that nothing will go wrong.”

 

“ Ah, that does remind me,” Isshin said, clearing his throat as he blushed lightly. “Yuzu told me to ask if you would need any kind of...personal items.” Ichigo’s head popped up from Ulquiorra’s shoulders, her eyes widening as a blush overtook her face.

 

“ Dad! Fuck!” she yelped.

 

“ What? I’m just asking what she told me to ask!”

  
“ Dad! Shut the fuck up!”

 

 


	8. A Shifting of Life 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Shifting of Life  
> Fandom: Bleach  
> Part: 7  
> Series: A Shifting World  
> Characters/Pairings: (Kira, Shunsui, Jūshirō), (Renji/Byakuya), (Shuuhei, Iba, Ikkaku, Yumichika)  
> Warnings: More talking  
> Word count: 1,719  
> AN: If you look above to the Characters/Pairings section, and you notice that there are parentheses around character names, I have an explanation. The next couple of chapters are in parts with different places and different characters. Each set of names is what the sections are, in order. Just look for the line that cuts into the story.
> 
> Other than that, Enjoy.
> 
> *~*~*~*

Sprawled out on a large floor pillow, his legs crossed at the ankle and stretched out before him, Shunsui sipped at his sake as Kira paced about his office, Jushiro sipping his own sake and kneeling on a floor pillow next to him. The three men had headed for the Thirteenth Division's office to discuss what had been done to Ichigo and what they could do to help her get used to things. At least until she turned back into a male. After that they would plan again.

 

The moment the door had closed and the sake pulled out, Kira had taken to pacing back and forth across the office, muttering under his breath about ‘ _ pink haired Arrancar freaks’ _ and ‘ _ beautiful people who inspired naughty thoughts _ ’ . Sharing a look, the two taicho’s burst into snickers as they shook their heads in amusement. Shunsui was the one who reached out and tugged Kira down onto the floor between them, the man still pouting.

 

“ Tell us what’s on your mind, tiny fukutaicho,” the brunet said, draping an arm over the other males shoulders.

 

“ I’m just trying to wrap my mind around the fact that Ichigo has gone from a rather good looking young man to a beautiful young woman,” Kira sighed, rubbing at his face with his hands. “What the fuck was that pink haired freak thinking doing this? Then again, Ichigo can pull off either gender, which really screws with me some more.”

 

“ I don’t really think any of us was expecting just how sweet looking Ichigo is as a female. She probably looks just as sweet as her natural male form, but we really never noticed especially since she doesn’t have an air of vulnerability that she has at the moment,” Jushiro said, pouring the blond a cup of sake as he smiled slightly. “As a woman, Ichigo seems softer, sweeter. As if she needs to be well protected and hidden away from the cruelties of the world. Even though we all know that if we try, she would kick all of our asses and remind us that she does know how the world works.”

 

Kira and Shunsui both looked over at the silver haired man with surprise on their faces before they looked to each other, finally nodding at the fact that he had a point. Ichigo as she was now had inspired them to want to protect her when she had been a male, but even then she had shown them that she could protect herself. But now, changed into a woman against her will, Ichigo just seemed softer and gentler, almost fragile, even with her sheer amount of power that she was barely tapping into.

 

Leaning back in his seat, Kira sighed and took the sake cup that Jushiro offered him, sipping at it before huffing. “I bet you that Renji, Shuuhei, Ikkaku, and Iba went out to drown themselves in alcohol while Yumichika plots something. That beauty nut has been after Ichigo since the first time he saw him,” he snorted, shaking his head.

 

“ And what about the others?” Shunsui prompted, swirling his own sake around in the cup in his hand.

 

“ They’re all probably trying to work their minds around Ichigo being a girl and so damn pretty,” was the sung reply, getting laughter from the two men.

 

“ Mostly likely knowing them,” Jushiro snickered, nuzzling into Kira’s neck with a sigh. “So, tell me, what should we do?” he purred, the two men smirking as their young partner blushing lightly.

 

“ Well, I can think of a few things,” Shunsui replied as his hand creeped up Kira’s side.

 

*~*~*~*

 

Pouring the hot tea slowly, Renji handed Byakuya a cup of it before he picked up his own cup, the two men lost in their thoughts.

 

“ I have absolutely no idea what I’m supposed to be feelin’ about this shit,” the redhead sighed after a few minutes of the only sounds being of tea cups being handled and the spoons scraping against their sides. Byakuya looked to his fukutaicho and lover, eyebrow rising in question. “I mean, Ichigo is a chick! He has been turned into a she with boobs and...and...and other girly bits! It’s so fucking confusing,” Renji groaned, rubbing at his face with furious movements.

 

“ Kurosaki-san is still herself no matter what her gender may be, Renji,” the noble stated, putting his cup down onto the table. He reached out to thread his fingers into soft red locks and tugged on them. “And you can not tell me that you would pass up the opportunity to take her to bed if she so much as cocked a hip at you,” he teased. He watched as red-brown eyes darkened, even as he slid into his lovers lap.

 

“ Yeah, you and me both,” Renji breathed, his large hands coming to rest on lean hips, holding his mate steady as he pulled him close to rub their groins together. “I saw the way you stared at her ass as she let the meetin’ earlier.”

 

“ I would make love to her, just like you do so with me,” Byakuya stated, brushing their lips together, not denying the words.

 

“ She really does deserve softness and someone who will stay with her for the rest of their lives,” Renji mused before he sealed their lips together in a slow kiss. They would talk more about their thoughts later, but they both knew already that if Ichigo wanted them, they wouldn’t turn her down.

 

The both wondered as clothes were lost and murmured words filled the air if she would ever be interested in two lovers at once in her bed.

 

*~*~*~*

 

Shuuhei was staring at a pile of papers, pen tapping on his desk as his mind ran in circles, scattered and bouncing with the new happenings. He really hadn’t expected to see that Ichigo had been turned into a woman, a very beautiful and curvaceous woman at that, at the meeting.

 

Licking his lips with a huff, the tattooed fukutaicho leant back in his seat and stretched his legs out under his desk, eyes glazing over in thought as his pen continued to tap on the desk.

 

As a male, Ichigo had been rather handsome, even scowling so much, but as a female her natural vulnerability was magnified. She inspired protective feelings in him, along side the lust that he felt. It was a rather odd mix for him to feel, making his mind unable to focus.

 

He was going to go nuts, he just knew it, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care.

 

Deciding that he should get out for a while, he stood up and headed out, seeing out Yumichika, Ikkaku, and Iba, figuring that they would have something to drink. Leaving his division, Shuuhei hunted down his friend’s reiatsu before he bounded over walls and roofs, arriving at Ikkaku’s personal rooms. He found his friends watching Ikkaku putter about his rooms, making sure that they would be fine until he got back from the Living World.

 

“ So you are heading to the Living World to gather up Ichigo-chan’s friends?” Shuuhei asked in greeting, taking the sake cup that was offered by Yumichika and taking a seat.

 

“ Yep. Unohana-san sent the butterfly earlier since I’m really not liable to just tell everyone or tease them with it,” Ikkaku responded, digging around under his bed. “I have ta pick them up and bring them back to the Seireitei tomorrow morning.”

 

“ He’s leavin’ in about an hour or so. Most likely gonna get laid while there to,” Iba teased, raising his glass at his friend, dodging the pillow tossed at him. Ikkaku stood up with a small bag in his hand, brushing off his hakama and picking up his zanpaktou before he slid it into his hakama-himo, finally just sitting down on his futon.

 

“ I’m actually wondering just how they’re going to take Ichigo-chan’s forced transformation into a female,” Yumichika mused, tilting his cup back and forth as a smug smile dance on his lips.

 

“ My guess is that Orihime-chan will likely freak out which will make Tatsuki-chan get pissy. Keigo-kun isn’t likely to do a whole lot more than stare at her,” Ikkaku said, shrugging.

 

“ I bet you that the Quincy will more than likely want to create her all sorts of new outfits,” Shuuhei snorted, leaning back against the wall. “I think her father and sisters already know along with Yoruichi-san and them at the shoten. It’s going to be interesting to tell them, that’s for sure. Especially when the rest of Seireitei finds out.”

 

“ We all know that most of the men in the Eleventh will suddenly get real protective of her,” Iba drawled before he drained his cup of sake and held the empty cup out. “Can you pour me a bit more, Yumichika-san?”

 

While Yumichika filled Iba’s cup, Shuuhei blinked over his own cups rim, the strong, good sake already getting to his head as he stared at his friend. What exactly did Iba mean by the Eleventh division getting protective of Ichigo?

 

“ I think he was broken with your comment, Iba-kun,” Yumichika snickered, patting Shuuhei’s shoulder.

 

“ Ya have ta remember, he’s never been a part of the Eleventh. Not a lot of outsiders know how we really work,” Ikkaku drawled at Iba’s raised eyebrow.

 

“ Oh, well then. There are women in the Eleventh Division, a few even hold some of the higher seated positions. But the guys really don’t rough house with them. They all follow Kenpachi-taicho’s example and treat them like the strong, capable women they are while still being protective brothers,” Iba said, shrugging slightly.

 

“ Pretty much, taicho treats them like he treats Unohana-sou-taicho when she’s not scaring him into behaving,” Yumichika simplified. Shuuhei simply nodded at the explanation.

 

“ So I take it that since Ichigo-chan is now a female, she’ll have more protectors then she’ll know what to do with?” Shuuhei snickered, shaking his head when all he got were nods in return. “She’s gonna end up busting some heads once she knows how to properly balance.” 

 

“ I’ll bring tha popcorn and sake,” Ikkaku laughed, making his companions burst into laughter with him.

 

 


	9. A Shifting of Life 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Shifting of Life  
> Fandom: Bleach  
> Part: 8  
> Series: A Shifting World  
> Characters/Pairings: (Kenpachi, Yachiru), (Hanataro), (Nemu, Mayuri), (Rukia), (Hitsugaya, Hyourinmaru), (Unohana)  
> Warnings: More thinking and talking  
> Word count: 2,193  
> AN: We are up to 8 chapters. I'm working my way through this. Hope you guys enough this. Please remember that all old reviews shall be placed into the new AN's.
> 
> *~*~*~*

Watching as Yachiru bounced around their office, babbling on and on about Ichigo and how the division had reacted to his transformation into a girl, Kenpachi rolled his eyes. He signed yet another piece of paper that sat on his desk.

 

When he had been chosen to head into Hueco Mundo along with the rest of the group, he had expected a free for all fight. But what they had found was a nicely endowed Ichigo lunging at the freaky pink haired Arrancar. He had been disappointed all the way up to the meeting with Ichigo standing there in front of them while wearing a borrowed female Shinigami uniform.

 

That rather lovely sight had easily knocked him out of his sullen mood and right into a leering mood. He had hidden that face and kept a close eye on how she was acting. The vibes he and the others were feeling had ignited their need to take care of and protect Ichigo.

 

Kenpachi knew that the male forcibly turned female could take care of herself, but she was still off balance. And the large taicho had a soft spot for the lovely red head, much like Ulquiorra had by his observations. Not that either man would admit to it, that was just the way they were.

 

Sitting back from his desk, the scarred man raised an eyebrow as he got a bright eyed look from Yachiru, staring at her in return. “What?” he grunted at her. He was unsurprised by the beaming smile that came from her.

 

“ Are you gonna help everyone teach our Ichigo-chan about how things work?” she chirped happily at him.

 

“ When the fuck did Ichi-chan become Ichigo-chan to you?” Kenpachi asked in return.

 

Scowling at him, Yachiru huffed and said, “When he became a shee. Big booby-chan always says that with females it is more polite to use full names unless you know them really well and have permission not to. Now answer me.” Kenpachi chuckled and made a note to thank Rangiku for the lessons for Yachiru before she shrugged.

 

“ If she doesn’t mind me helpin’. I could teach her about how the Eleventh works at tha least,” he drawled. He decided not to say anything about some of the more sexual aspects of his thoughts. After all, the pink haired brat before him was still quite a few years away from such thoughts and he didn’t want to get them started yet.

 

“ I heard some of the ladies talking about stealing her and booby-chan away for some girl time so that Ichigo-chan had more time to get used to being a girl.”

 

“ Find out what they plan on doin’ and when they wanna do it. I’ll figure out if the budget has room for it,” Kenpachi grunted. Yachiru squealed happily and ran off to do that, leaving her ‘Kenny-chan’ alone with his thoughts.

 

*~*~*~*

 

Counting the boxes of gloves in supply closet four, Hanataro nibbled at his bottom lip as his thoughts drifted from his work and towards his friend, and what had been done to her. When they had first learned of Ichigo’s capture, he had worried himself into a sickbed until news of a rescue operation had reached him. That bit of news had soothed his fears, his jitteriness calming down.

 

He had always felt something for Ichigo, from the first time that he had met the rather good looking teen, long before he had become a temporary she. She had had power to spare, but had been reluctant to fight against someone if she could help it. She preferred to knock them out or go around them if the option was available. She hadn’t even wanted to drag Hanataro around after she and Ganju had escaped from a group of Eleventh divisioners. But he had made them take him in his own way.

 

And really, Hanataro hadn’t regretted a single moment of it beyond the fact that he had betrayed Unohana’s trust in him.

Ichigo had always treated him as if he was just as capable as others on the field of battle, even though he was barely able to defend himself. He was encouraged by her every time that they talked to learn all that he could about his powers and abilities, about his limits and just how far he could push them. He had grown because of Ichigo-san.

 

But not he was worrying about what she was going through, having been changed from male to a female. Sighing to himself, Hanataro rubbed at his eyes with one hand before he put his supply list down. He left the supply closet, closing the door behind him before heading to the break room. Checking out for the day, he headed towards the small home that he shared with another Fourth division medic who worked the night shifts, finding that the house was already empty.

 

Which was just fine with him. He did need a little time alone sometimes.

 

He was, after all, a man with hormones and quite used to actually getting laid at least a couple of times every week. And really? Ichigo, while having been gorgeous as a man, was drop dead beautiful as a female with all of the right curves. Hanataro highly doubted that the others wouldn’t seek their own partners for some private time.

 

Padding through the house and into his room, he closed the door behind him, wondering if he would ever get a chance with Ichigo. It didn’t matter which gender. Both were good to him.

 

*~*~*~*

 

Watching her so called ‘father’, Nemu felt her lips tug down into a frown, amazing at how stupid she was finding his rants at the moment. He was sweeping around his office, unbelieving that he had been so callously brushed aside for the exiled Urahara. Her eyebrows were trying to twitch as he started to insult Ichigo-san, making the minds that stopped her from committing patricide snap.

 

“ Urahara-san is not only her master and her sensei, but he is also Ichigo-sans friend. No one trusts you with something so important, especially since you keep expressing the need to dissect her to figure out just how she ticks,” Nemu snapped. Her anger colored her tone, shocking Mayuri into complete silence.

 

“ What did you say, you stupid girl?” the taicho snapped back, jerking when she turned flaring black eyes towards him, her blank face adding to his sudden fear.

 

“ You do know that they call you a bully, don’t you? You may be smart, but you do not have any imagination. So you take it out when they call it out. You work to keep me subservient because it makes you happy,” she snarled before she snorted delicately, the sound almost sneeze like. “Urahara was better than you and he is well trusted. As it is, you are on thin ice with Unohana-soutaicho. Keep it up. I  _ dare _ you to.”

 

With her piece said, Nemu stalked out of the office, glaring darkly at whoever came close to her. Mayuri collapsed into his chair, his eyes wide as he stared at the door that had slammed shut behind her, shaking.

 

*~*~*~*

 

Stalking from one side of her bedroom to the other, Rukia tried hard to squish down her feelings of hurt that Ichigo had decided not to stay with her. She could understand why she didn’t want to, but it still hurt.

 

Huffing quietly, Rukia flopped back onto her futon and scowled at her vanity mirror, uneasy with how jealous she was feeling about her friend before it swiftly disappeared. Then again, she wasn’t so much jealous of Ichigo but rather of all of the attention that was bound to get from everyone. She wasn’t to sure about why she was feeling that jealous. She should be used to it from when Ichigo had still been a male and the youngest Shinigami to date, even half alive.

 

Huffing once more, Rukia ran a hand through her hair and scowled.

 

“ But now, with her as a female, and a good looking one to boot, she’ll just upstage me even more. And everyone will want to protect her just because she’ll be more vulnerable than usual,” Rukia snarled to herself. She threw a pillow at her mirror as she growled. Taking a deep breath, she reached up and smoothed a hand through her hair, her gray eyes dark. Well. If Ichigo wanted to be the center of attention again, then so be it.

 

That didn’t mean that she had to be happy about having to share her partners with another female though.

 

*~*~*~*

 

Staring at the wall of his sitting room, Hitsugaya barely twitched as the sun started to set over Soul Society. His mind was stuck on what happened to Ichigo and the reactions to the substitute Shinigami turning into a woman. Most of them had been unsurprising, but a few of them had really surprised him with their reactions.

 

His fukutaicho’s reaction had been one that had surprised him in a way. Matsumoto had damn near squealed at the thought of a very female Ichigo staying with her. Though, he had absolutely no doubt that she would finally get her into bed. That had been something that she had been trying to do since Ichigo had stormed the Seireitei to save Rukia.

 

And the near murderous look in Byakuya’s eyes had been enough to make shivers dance up and down his back. But the subtle looks that he had sent her had been much more surprising. Everyone knew that he wasn’t interested in women all that much, preferring his main lover with the occasional side lover. But he had stood there and eyed Ichigo up like every hot blooded male out there, the now young woman standing oblivious to it.

 

Blinking to himself, Hitsugaya crossed his legs and tapped his knee as he leant his head against one hand as his mind drifted to Rukia.

 

He highly doubted anyone had noticed the dark look that had passed over her face when Ichigo had decided to stay with Rangiku. But he had seen it. And it made him worried about what was going on in her head. That look had not been anger for her friend’s plight but had been sheer jealousy against someone.

 

Hitsugaya had very little doubt that the jealousy was directed towards the oblivious Ichigo. The dragon spirit of his zanpakuto growled and rumbled next to him, the temperature dropping slightly around him.

 

“ There is something going on with the closet psycho,” Hitsugaya told Hyourinmaru, his eyes darkening with his worry.

 

“ _ There is indeed. We’ll watch things for now _ ,” the dragon rumbled, getting a nod from his wielder.

 

“ Yes, we will. Ichigo is in a vulnerable position at the moment, so she will need as much help as she can get until she figures out how this affects her abilities,” the ice taicho said, stroking a hand over his zanpakuto. He stood and left the sitting room of the office, his mind to chaotic to be able to work on his paperwork. With zanpakuto in hand, he headed to the training grounds.

 

*~*~*~*

 

Sending off the last pile of paperwork off with one of her assistants, Unohana stood up and walked over to her window. She smoothed a hand over her braid, her eyes dark with thought.

 

She was worried about the young Shinigami who had come into her car and was one of her most powerful fighters and what was going on with the young woman. To be changed into a gender that was not her own, and not knowing if she would be able to be turned back. It must be eating at her.

 

Sighing to herself, she looked towards the gates that had to the world of the living and watched as Ikkaku said goodbye to a few of his friends before he left. Unohana wondered what the reactions of Ichigo-chan’s friend, and how they would feel about the fact that the war was on a kind of hiatus.

 

And not because they had stopped trying to attack, to topple Seireitei over, but because Aizen hadn’t done anything beyond kidnap Ichigo in the last six months. Even then, he had let her go willingly when they had come for her, even though at the time, they had thought that she had still been a male.

 

But Unohana knew that even if Ichigo had still been a male, he still would have allowed her to leave. He had simply taken her to tell her something to pass on to everyone who was a part of the war. She would tell everyone about it when they had gathered everyone together and had been told what had been done to Ichigo.

 

Turning away from her window as an assistant came into the office with a new pile of papers in his arms, she smiled and dismissed the man once he had set the papers down. She sat down at her desk once more and continued to do her work, a part of her mind still swirling with her thoughts.

  
  


 

 


	10. A Shifting of Life 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Shifting of Life  
> Fandom: Bleach  
> Part: 9  
> Series: A Shifting World  
> Characters/Pairings: Ikkaku/Keigo, Orihime, Mizuiro, Tatsuki, Unohana, Sado, Ishida, Ulquiorrora, Isshin, Urahara  
> Warnings: some sex  
> Word count: 1,205  
> AN: Remember, I am reposting 3 chapters as I edit 3 chapters so that it's coming out at a decent rate. Just enjoy.

Smirking, Ikkaku rolled his hips slowly, purring lowly as his little lover tightened around his length and came with a rather lovely yelp for him. Thrusting a few more times into the pliant body, the bald man followed after with a husky growl, enjoying the shiver that rocked Keigo’s body.

 

“Perfect,” Ikkaku hummed as he slowly pulled free of the limp body that was under him before he flopped onto his back. He reached out for the wet wash cloth that they had shoved to the side earlier and picked it up. He cleaned the two of them off, smiling at the murmur that the move got him before he tossed the cloth into the hamper.

 

“Not that I’m complaining about seeing you here, but you looked a bit twitchy and bright eyed when you arrived. I couldn’t ask about it last night because you pounced on me,” Keigo said after a few moments. He shifted to rest his head against Ikkaku’s chest, eyes closing to enjoy the early morning afterglow of a rocking round of sex.

 

“Yeah, I’m actually here to collect all of Ichgio’s friends and take ‘em back to the Seireitei. A few things happened and Ichi could use some support,” Ikkaku said, drawing his hand over his lover’s hip.

 

“To Ichigo-kun?” Keigo asked as he raised an eyebrow at his lover, getting a nod. “Then we should get up and get ready, make some calls and get everyone to meet over at Orihime-chan’s,” he chirped, sitting up and sliding out of bed.

 

Watching as his younger lover limp towards to the bathroom, Ikkaku briefly worried about Ichigo’s friends and what their reactions would end up being before he just followed after. A hot shower, another round of sex with Keigo pressed up against the wall, and a quick breakfast, the two lovers called Ichigo’s friends, getting them to gather at Orihime’s house.

 

A couple of hours later found him leaning back on one hand as he watched the worried group of friends that sat before him. They were staring at him and Keigo, who was holding a stuffed backpack to his chest.

 

“So, Unohana-soutaicho gave all of you permission to come and stay in the Seireitei for a few days, or until you want to come home. Whatever you feel the urge to do,” Ikkaku told them, rubbing at his head and drawing Keigo’s eyes to the movement. The male blushed as he remembered how the man had looked while he had been between his legs the night before.

 

“You told us over the phone that this was about Ichigo-kun. Did something happen to him?” Orihime asked, her eyes wide and worried. Ikkaku looked over at her before he twitched slightly, feeling as if there was something that was _off_ about her. Then again, he had never felt real comfortable around her.

 

“No worries. Ichigo is fine, I promise. Now, everyone have their bags and stuff ready?” Ikkaku asked, easily changing the subject. He wasn’t going to give anything away at the moment. It was Isshin and Ichigo’s job to tell them what was going on with Ichigo after all.

 

Getting nods as they held up their own bags, the bald Shinigami nodded and stood before he lead the group up to Urahara’s place, using the underground training room to open the gate to Seireitei. Once they had arrived safely, Ikkaku continued to lead the group, heading for the meeting room in the First division. Arriving, they found Unohana, Isshin, and Urahara already waiting for them as Tatsuki closed the door.

 

“Welcome to Seireitei, everyone,” Unohana greeted, waving a hand to the floor pillows that had been set down around the simple table. And extra tea cup already sat on the table, a light pink half ring on the edge of it. “Please, sit down. Kurosaki-kun has gone to gather more tea cups and some fresh tea for all of you. Ikkaku-san, you are free to go or stay if you wish to. Though I am sure that Kurosaki-kun would enjoy having your company.”

 

“Thank you, Unohana-sama,” Ikkaku said, bowing slightly before taking a seat, his lover sitting to his left, bag placed behind him.

 

“Will someone please tell us what is going on now? I take it that Kurosaki has been rescued finally,” Ishida said, pushing up his glasses as he glared at the assembled group. The group turned to a side door as it slid opened, Sado standing there with a tray of tea cups in his hand.

 

“The tea will be ready soon,” he said in greeting. His low voice rolled through the room easily as he closed the door behind him with a foot before he walked over to place the tray down, kneeling on his own pillow near his friends.

 

“To answer your question, Ishida-san, yes, Ichigo has been brought back after Unohana-sama approved the rescue party to head to Hueco Mundo,” Isshin said, playing with his tea cup. “While he had been there though, the Arrancar named Szayel Aporro Grantz decided that my child would make a very good breeder.”

 

“So he did what to Ichigo-kun now?” Tatsuki asked, narrowing her eyes as she took the offered tea cup that Sado gave her.

 

“First, you all should know a few things about how power is transferred and carried. While a child can indeed gain power from their father, they absorb a majority of their starter power from their mother. So, if you want for a child with a lot of power, you need a mother with just as much power,” Unohana told the group. She got confused looks from all of them before Keigo groaned quietly, putting the pieces together.

 

“Oh, please tell me that the idiot didn’t do what I’m guessing he did,” he moaned. Ikkaku stroked through his hair with a soft smile.

 

“I am afraid so, Keigo-kun,” Ichigo drawled as she walked into the room with a tray with tea pots on it, Ulquiorra walking in behind her. His gaze dared them to piss her off or to hurt her in anyway. “He was able to get to me when Ulquiorra-san went to get me some tea and food. He decided that I should be a female and have lots of babies. Urahara is going to work out if he change me back or not.”

 

“Well, I can say that the transformation didn’t hurt your looks,” Keigo said with a smile, eyes trailing over her body with obvious appreciation. Ichigo blushed brilliantly. “Who got you to wear the lip gloss and eyeliner?”

 

“How do you know what I’m wearing?” Ichigo asked as she sat down.

 

“Remember, I have an older sister. I learned to look for such things,” Keigo replied. He noted that Mizuiro was apparently ready to make an exception to his ‘only older women’ rule just for Ichigo.

 

“Actually, Rangiku-chan convinced me to do it. Now, we’re just waiting for everyone else to get here. I have a lot of things to tell you guys,” the male turned female told them. She sat down and served everyone tea, smiling slightly.

 

 


	11. A Shifting of Life 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Shifting of Life  
> Fandom: Bleach  
> Part: 10  
> Series: A Shifting World  
> Characters/Pairings: Ikkaku/Keigo, Orihime, Mizuiro, Tatsuki, Unohana, Sado, Ishida, Ulquiorra, Isshin, Urahara, Jushrio, Shunsui, Hitsugaya  
> Warnings: some snarling  
> Word count: 1,506  
> AN: Well yeah, a newly rewritten chapter. I'm on chapter 22 as of this reposting, so I'm hoping that you'll enjoy.
> 
> Reviews are lovely!
> 
> And for those who are just joining us, this is an old story but it being seriously overhauled due to the fact that I'm working on the sequel “A Shifting of Perspective”. Enjoy.
> 
> *~*~*~*

An hour later and the people who needed to know what was going on and what had gone on while Ichigo had been with Aizen had been gathered together, sitting around in the small, private meeting room. Ichigo was shooting Orihime looks of worry before she turned back to her quiet conversation with Ulquiorra, who was watching everyone closely. He was worried about someone upsetting his already confused charge. He had a feeling that it wasn’t just Ichigo’s balance that was the only thing that was off at the moment.

 

“Are ya goin’ ta tell us what everythin’? Mostly about what happened while ya were with the traitor?” Kenpachi asked her, raising an eyebrow as he relaxed back against one wall.

 

“Yes, I will be, Kenpachi-kun,” Ichigo huffed at him, glaring over at him.

 

“I do hope that ya know you’re one of the few that can get away with addin’ that -kun ta my name,” Kenpachi growled, getting a smug smirk from the lean female.

 

“I know,” she said happily, smirking at him. “Now, if you can keep your questions until I’m done telling you what I know, I can tell you guys about my time in Los Noches and what happened while I was pretty much just hanging out,” she said. She swept her eyes over everyone before she looked to her teacup to help her keep her focus on the story.

 

“How about you start from the beginning, when you were kidnapped,” Keigo suggested, smiling at his friend. The small, grateful smile that he got from her did things to his libido that only Ikkaku had ever made him feel. He was really happy that he had actually listened to his lover about how things worked in Seireitei. Especially more so about sex and sexual partners.

 

“Alright, I can do that. As you guys know, I was caught while I was out on my own while on a hollow patrol. Wait...guys...Shinji? The Vizards?” Ichigo asked as she noticed that her friends weren’t there. She blushed at the fact that she hadn’t even noticed.

 

“They’ve taken over the hollow hunting duties for the moment while you’re here for the time being. Your dad said that he was going to record this though,” Ikkaku said as he looked to Isshin. The man nodded and waved a hand to a small camera that sat on a short tripod, facing Ichigo.

 

“Okay, that’s good then. Anyways, I was knocked out after I had handled a hollow by something. When I woke up, I was at Los Noches, Ulquiorra-san watching over me and I had a private room. Once I was up, I didn’t feel any side effects to whatever had knocked me out, so I was fed and allowed to change into a new outfit. Which wasn’t half bad if a little short in the length department. In general, I was treated like an honored guest with a personal bodyguard,” Ichigo said as she swirled her tea in her cup.

 

“During the first week that she was there, I was the only one to watch over her. While I watched over her though, I found out some things that we did not know about her. Including her love of a good tea,” Ulquiorra said, teasing in his own way and getting a huff of amusement.

 

“He worked to keep me calm-ish and for the most part he was able to do so. He got me books from the library whenever I wanted to do something other than sit around and think. Mostly because I didn’t have Zangetsu to train with and I didn’t want to deal with any of the other Arrancars who either wanted to kill me, question me to death, or fuck me. It wasn’t until Aizen started to hold near daily meetings with me that I learned what he wanted,” Ichigo said. She sipped her tea. “The first few days he just let me rant and complain about being kidnapped. He really didn’t have to considering I was not nice when I insulted him. After that, we talked about things in generalized ways. School, family, friends. Mostly without names of anyone who wasn’t a part of the war when it was actively going, or those who knew about it.

 

“It wasn’t long after that though that we actually started to speak of things that had happened in our pasts and how we came to be the people that we are now. And no, I’m not going to share what it was that he told me during those conversations. Suffice to say that it showed a part of Yamamoto that he tried to keep from everyone but hadn’t quite been able to when he was the sou-taicho,” she stated. She gave Hitsugaya a narrow-eyed glare when he snapped his mouth shut at the words.

 

“Why won’t you, Kurosaki-kun?” Orihime asked, her voice soft and curious. But still something was off with the way she spoke, Shiro shifting in her soul at the sound of her voice.

 

“Because I had made a promise to him not to without his permission and all of you know that I don’t break those. Not when it comes to such a personal issue,” Ichigo finally said. “Anyways, I found out just why he had started the war. And really? I can tell you it’s not because he’s a traitorous bastard that just wants to kill all of you and take over the Seireitei. Rather, he’s looking to restore the balance that the three worlds one had, and clean up the Soul Society. And I do mean the entirety of Soul Society,” she stated, her eyes flashing a bit.

 

“The balance?” Kiego muttered to himself as he looked to his lover who just shrugged.

 

“The balance is the ebb and flow of the ties between the three Worlds. It’s what gives us our powers, gives a soul its chance at a living life, and helps the Living world to grow,” Hitsugaya said, getting a nod from Ichigo.

 

“Ichigo-chan, does Aizen truly believe that the balance if off?” Shunsui asked as he leant forward to gaze at her.

 

“He truly does. And if you really looked, you can see it all around us to. The outer districts are desolate where they had once been ripe with life. The evidence is the trees that still stand, dead as they are, and the lake beds, dry as they are. New souls and old souls once happily flowed back and forth between life and death, but now it’s taking them longer and longer to move onto the next step of their lives.” She smirked at Shunsui, Byakuya, and Jushiro. “And sorry to those who are a part of the clans, but they weren’t ever meant to have so much power over the Shinigami. We are here to help keep the balance on an even keel,” she stated quietly. She allowed her words to sink in as she sipped her tea.

 

“So he did all of this so that he could fix things for the souls that are suffering because of this imbalance?” Shunsui asked, getting a nod from Ichigo. Everyone was looking at her in varying degrees of surprise, shock, and anger. Shunsui and Jushiro could well remember how the Gotei 13 had started and agreed that things needed to be fixed and soon.

 

“And all of the pain that he has caused is going to be just forgotten?” Hitsugaya hissed, lips pulled back from his teeth.

 

“It was to get people to stop and think about how things worked for once. If you look, Yamamoto took Kira’s guilt at face value while he took Momo’s side, even though she was and still is seriously mentally unstable. I’ve done my own watching over the last year, and have done my own research. She’s seriously obsessed with Aizen and only rarely does she care about anyone who isn’t her ‘Aizen-sama’,” Ichigo stated, her voice cool as she and Hitsugaya stared each other down. “I will tell you again, I’ve done my own research. It helps that Aizen has been able to get his hands on copies of every single scroll, paper, and book in the _daireishokairo_ , hidden away or not. He let me have at them so that I could research. So I know what the hell I’m talking about. So back down!”

 

Hitsugaya stared at her with wide eyes, never having seen such iciness from her before. “I suppose you’re right,” he grumbled. “When did you get so damn smart?” he growled, Ichigo snorting at him.

 

“I had a lot of time when I could just think about things, about the truth behind his words and the research that backed it up,” Ichigo said as she picked up her tea cup with a smirk. “Amazing what you can get done when you have nothing to do all day.”

 

“This is all so wrong!”

  
  


 

 


	12. A Shifting of Life 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Shifting of Life  
> Fandom: Bleach  
> Part: 11  
> Series: A Shifting World  
> Characters/Pairings: Ikkaku/Keigo, Orihime, Mizuiro, Tatsuki, Unohana, Sado, Ishida, Ulquiorra, Isshin, Urahara, Jushrio, Shunsui, Hitsugaya  
> Warnings: Mean Orihime  
> Word count: 1,355  
> AN: I wish to state right now that the situation with Orihime is cleared up in the long run and the bit with Aizen is covered in A Shifting of Perspective, which is story 2. 
> 
> Just please wait for it. Thank you.
> 
> *~*~*~*

Blinking at the outburst, the group turned to the one who had yelled the words, finding Orihime standing in her spot, scowling. They stared at the young girl who was looking less than pleased at the moment due to something or another.

 

“What’s not right?” Kenpachi asked as he nearly snarled at the way Ichigo had a hurt, confused puppy look on her face. It reminded him to much of Yachiru when she had a cold, making the need to protect her rise up in him. It was really an odd feeling that made him shifting in his seat. His reiatsu writhed around him in a barely controlled manner as he frowned at Orihime.

 

“This is all so wrong! Aizen can not be good in any way, shape or form, Ichigo should not be a female, and by the looks of it, attracted to guys,” Orihime yelled, stamping her foot. Ichigo found herself trying to hold back tears at the sudden stab of pain and confusion. “Ichigo is a guy. Not a girl...a female, whatever! He’s supposed to be the strong one, the hero! He’s not supposed to be listening to the ones who tried to kill all of us and stand next to one of the people who tried to personally kill him!”

 

Ulquiorra started to snarl softly at her, Ichigo’s hand on his arm the only thing stopping him from jumping at her. The others were all surprised by the venom that laced every word that came from Orihime’s mouth.

 

Ichigo put her teacup down and squeezed Ulquiorra’s arm before she took a deep breath, getting control of herself. “Do you think that I wanted to be turned into a female, Orihime?” she asked, her eyes gazing at her friend. “And do you really think that I would listen to anyone who has tried to kill me if I didn’t think for one second that I shouldn’t? Have you forgotten that Byakuya here tried to kill me when we invaded Seireitei to save Rukia? All Aizen wanted was me too be out of the way for a while, and the best way was to either have me on bed rest or training, which I did,” Ichigo said. Everyone went stiff at the quiet hurt in her voice. “And as for me liking guys, I always have liked them, but I was always pigeon holed by you and later others as purely straight.

 

“Yeah, I did notice when you told Rukia that I was straight but I wasn’t looking. It wasn’t that long after that before everyone else had heard about that little tidbit. Including my sisters. Karin was the one who told me about that and how they found out about it, along with who it had originated from. The thing is, Orihime, I don’t often feel any kind of attraction to most women outside of a couple of them. But for a male? I’m most likely to have a fantasy about another male then a female,” she continued, her voice growing hard.

 

“Can you even get it up for a woman as a guy?” Ikkaku asked, sounding curious but scandalized as Ichigo blushed and shrugged.

 

“Depends on the woman really. It doesn’t always work. Do you remember when I trained with Yoruichi? She has this habit of getting into the same bath as I was and I was more embarrassed than aroused. And she is dead gorgeous, just not my type of woman,” Ichigo admitted.

 

“It sounds like despite the fact that you can’t get it up for a beautiful woman, it doesn’t stop you from appreciating the beauty right?” Yumichika asked. He smirked at the young woman who just shrugged and played with her teacup once more.

 

“Are you gay or bi?” Keigo asked. His voice was curious, most of the people around her turning to look at her with their own curious expressions on their faces. Most of them wanted to know so they could find out if they had a chance with her.

 

“For both genders, it’s mostly about the personality, and I’m talking the true personality not what is shown to everyone. Mostly pansexual than anything else,” Ichigo said, shrugging. “As to why I never bothered to dispel the rumor was because I never really had any time with the war and fights. Any free time that I did have was spent doing homework, spending time with my family, healing, resting for the next fight, and so on. I never had any time to stop and fix that misconception until right now.”

 

“But...I had thought that you would date me,” Orihime gasped as she watched Ichigo’s eyes darken, the other female shaking her head.

 

“No, I don’t think I would ever do so. I care for you like I do Tatsuki, like a sister,” she said softly. She looked up and jerked back at the dark look that was on Orihime’s face.

 

“You’re even more of a freak than what I thought you could be! That inner hollow of yours I could deal with. I actually liked the fact that you had so much power going on for you, but now that you’re a girl, I learn that you are even more of a one than what I thought!” the caramel haired woman screeched before she ran off in a flurry of lashing power.

 

Ichigo looked stricken by the harsh and bitter words, her eyes wet with unshed tears. Ulquiorra reigned in the instinctual need to go after the one who had hurt his charge, instead turning to her and getting her to stand up, leading her out of the meeting room as she looked up at him. Isshin growled at the words that floated over her shoulder.

 

“Am I really a freak for being what I am?” she asked as he closed the door behind them.

Ulquiorra’s words were muffled but still heard as they walked down the hallway. “Hardly, Ichigo-chan.”

 

“Can you tell us why Kurosaki-san is so easy to read at the moment?” Uryu asked as Mizuiro tried to get Tatsuki out of her shocked state with gentle words. Unohana smiled softly at him as she stood.

 

“It’s her hormones currently. They’re still off, making her quite a bit more vulnerable than what she would usually be. She’ll eventually balance out but until then she’ll be softer in the day to day things. I have a feeling though that this experience is bringing down some blocks that she has had up for a good part of her life. Treat her gently,” she told them, getting nods from everyone before she left to her paperwork.

 

*~*~*~*

 

Smirking to herself as she smoothed the letter closed, she slipped it into a cream colored envelope. She dripped some wax onto the flap, sealing it shut, before using her brand new wax stamp to press it into the paper. The seal was one she had created herself for such correspondences and she was rather proud of them. Standing up, she sent the letter off with a hell butterfly, eyes half lidded as her smirk shifted into a smug smile.

 

Closing the sliding door that lead to her personal garden, she scowled, catching sight of a picture before she reached out and tipped it over to lay face down. She knew that Ichigo was probably with all of her friends, more than likely thinking about just who she could fuck around with in her new form.

 

Snorting, she looked to her mirror, running her fingers through her hair to get it to sit smoothing before smirking at her reflection.

 

She would very soon show everyone just who Ichigo was and just who Aizen was, the two timing son of a bitch. He had promised her so much before he had just stopped coming to her.

 

“Oh yes, she would show them all just who those two were, but first she needed to get some outside help. She just hoped that they would listen to her plea and agree to the perks of working with her.

  
  


 

 


	13. A Shifting of Life 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Shifting of Life  
> Fandom: Bleach  
> Part: 12  
> Series: A Shifting World  
> Characters/Pairings: Ichigo,   
> Warnings: Nudity, some talk about mean behavior  
> Word count: 1,525  
> AN: As of this chapter, I have added, 1,991 words to this story. That's not bad for 12 chapters. On average that is just a little bit over 165 words per chapter added. I'm doing pretty good all things considered. 
> 
> I hope that you're enjoying this rewrite and are anticipating the sequel. Which will happen eventually. I'm working on it. 
> 
> Slowly.
> 
> Enjoy.
> 
> *~*~*~*

Moaning in delight as she slowly sank into the water of the hot spring, Ichigo hummed as the water worked on her sore muscles and healing the bruises she had gotten during her training. Yoruichi had come and gone for the day, taking Rangiku and Nanao both with her. She had said something about plotting something for Ichigo, which she had quickly gotten used to in the last two weeks since she had gotten back to the Seireitei.

 

Urahara had found out which chromosomes had been targeted by the serum that Szayel had used the day before and was working on figuring out the formula. Ulquiorra joined him on occasion at Rangiku’s dining room table to decode the notes. Ichigo on the other hand had been training until she dropped. He had learned even more about her now female body by talking with Rangiku and Nanao before she got drunk afterwards in an attempt to forget about the conversation.

 

And of course, she had discovered that having sex while drunk was a very interesting experience. More so when your partner was one Rangiku Matsumoto.

 

Sighing as she sank further into the hot water, Ichigo splashed a bit before wincing hard at a cramp that shot through her groin. Another lovely little surprise that had popped up was a menstrual cycle that she had to work through during her training. A cramp could take her down faster than a sword through her gut could apparently.

 

“Damn pink haired bastard had to get a hair up his ass and do this to me,” Ichigo muttered unhappily. She turned her mind back to her training. The first week had been all about getting her balance back before they had moved onto sword play and learning how to balance with Zangetsu in her hands. She was getting better though and was learning Kido alongside everything else which left her busy.

 

Blinking as Ulquiorra slipped into the water across from her, wearing a towel around his waist, Ichigo blushed and smiled at the Arrancar, glad that he had worn it.

 

“Is Urahara driving you nuts again?” she asked him as he settled into the water.

 

“Yes, he is. How is it that you deal with him?” the pale Espada asked her, gazing over at his charge. Most of her body was covered by the water and towel, but her shoulders and the barest hint of the swell of her breasts were visible to his eyes. He was finding it harder to stop himself from just pouncing upon her, or just holding her close and burying his face into her neck. Or even better to his view, her cleavage.

 

“I deal with him because I kind of have to and I do respect him,” Ichigo replied before she winced as another cramp jabbed through her. Ulquiorra sighed and moved so that he was sitting next to her, pulling her onto his lap and rubbing at where he knew the cramps were. He smiled as she blushed at the move but still sighed and relaxed under the massage, her eyes closing as the cramp dissipated faster. “Thanks,” she sighed as she rested back against the Espada, feeling him sink a bit further to slump down on the seat in the water.

 

“I spoke with Unohana-san about how best to relieve your cramps and she suggested a very gentle application of reiatsu to the area, preferably with a hot towel or water on the area. She said it was better than a hot water bottle,” Ulquiorra said, making Ichigo smirk and nod.

 

“I think I might be a bad influence on you, Ulquiorra-san. You’re talking more often,” she teased, feeling him snort as he buried his nose into her hair. His fingers had settled over where the cramps were the worst, rubbing in small circles that were warmer than her skin, making her relax even more. Sighing yet again, Ichigo let the hot water and gentle fingers soothe her into not even noticing that her towel was slipping dangerously low, giving her pale companion a show. Humming, she smiled as she felt cool lips press a soft kiss to her neck, opening her eyes and looking down before readjusting her towel.

 

“We really should head back to Rangiku’s place. It’s my turn to make dessert tonight and Yuzu was nice enough to send me a recipe for those amazing single serve chocolate cakes,” she hummed. With a sigh, she pulled away from the Arrancar, much to Ulquiorra’s displeasure.

 

“I suppose we should,” Ulquiorra mused, watching as Ichigo stepped out of the hot spring with a smile, stepping behind a boulder. Following her example, the Cuarta Espada moved to stand and moved around another boulder where his things were waiting for him, drying and dressing quickly as Ichigo muttered about sports bras and other underwear.

 

“You need to keep your boobs from bouncing into your face all the time, so no complaining otherwise I’ll have you wear what the rest of us wear,” came the sung line. The two looked around their respective boulders to find out who had talked. They found Yoruichi standing there, looking smug about something or another while Soi-Fon stood next to her, looking none to happy with being there.

 

“Yoruichi-san,” Ulquiorra greeted her before he returned to dressing. Ichigo stepped out from behind her own boulder, messing with her sleeveless, high neck shirt, and wearing a pair of jeans that looked as if they had gone against a pair of scissors and lost. Her training clothes had been shoved into a duffle bag that was slung over her shoulder.

 

“What are you two doing back here anyways?” she asked, brushing a hand through her wet hair as she gazed at the other woman.

 

“I needed to show Soi-Fon where your training is being held at the moment. She’s going to help me create some more complicated maneuvers for you since you seem to be learning faster than what we thought you would,” Yoruichi told them.

 

“It’s not my fault. I don’t exactly have much else to do beyond practice my maneuvers, train, do my homework, cook, and be a human pincushion for Urahara. Everyone else right now are busy with setting up the new shinigami who just graduated, so it’s not like I’m real high on their list right now,” Ichigo snorted. Ulquiorra came up behind her and placed a hand on her lower back, getting a smile from her. Soi-Fon’s eyes narrowed as Yoruichi smirked, poking her in her side before she turned back to Ichigo.

 

“Ah, that reminds me. Rangiku-chan wants you to head  on over to the Eleventh division for something. I think it was for a kimono tailor,” the cat like woman said, smirking at the wide eyed look on Ichigo’s face. “Please, don’t tell that you forgot about the Spring Festival that’s happening next week, Ichi.”

 

“No I didn’t forget. I just didn’t think that any of you would actually want me there,”Ichigo said, shifting on her feet as she blushed.

 

“Oh, Ichigo. Of course we want you there,” Yoruichi said, walking over to her and smoothing her hair down. “Didn’t Rukia tell you that Byakuya wanted to by your escort?” she asked, getting a shake of her head. “Well, he does. How about you go and swing on by the sixth and talk with him before you hit the house and then the Eleventh?”

 

“I can do that. Though I’m thinking that I should suggest that you keep the midget away from me though,” Ichigo sighed. She had a bad feeling suddenly. Kissing Yoruichi’s cheek, she bowed to Soi-Fon before she shunpoed off, Ulquiorra following after her after he gave the two women a quick bow.

 

“I am so not going to tell her that she had disappointed sweet, little Hanataro by not responding to his invitation to the Fall festival. Especially since I have a very bad feeling that Rukia hadn’t told her about his invitation either,” Yoruichi drawled. She shook her head as her companion gave her a questioning look.

 

“Why would you say that?” she asked as they turned to survey the training grounds and its layout.

 

“Do you really want to see Ichigo go on a mood swing on Rukia? I’m suddering at what the destruction would be, along with the following sulking. We’d end up having to head out to the Living world and buying out a store’s supply of sweet and salty snacks, and their chocolate,” she snorted, shaking her head as Soi-Fon shuddered hard. As sweet and calm Ichigo was at the moment, she was still very much Ichigo. She was still hurt by betrayal or lies from friends, and would fight with Rukia, physically if it came down to it.

 

Either way, it would not be a pretty sight.

 

“Right. Let’s not tell her but we’ll have to spread around that information that Rukia was hiding things,” Soi-Fon agreed, shaking her head and pointing out a few areas that would help them train Ichigo.

  
  


 

 


	14. A Shifting of Life 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Shifting of Life  
> Fandom: Bleach  
> Part: 13  
> Series: A Shifting World  
> Characters/Pairings: Ichigo, Ulquiorra, Byakuya  
> Warnings: some talk about mean behavior  
> Word count: 1,523  
> AN: These chapters are rather fun to edit, really they are. :P I hope that you guys are enjoying this and will take a moment to comment.
> 
> Enjoy
> 
> *~*~*~*

Hopping down from the railing, her constant shadow coming to land behind her, Ichigo ran a hand through her short hair as she gazed at the door that lead to Byakuya’s office. Sighing, she groaned lowly as a cramp forced her to lean up against the railing and rub at the spot, waiting for it to let go. When it did, she stood up straight, feeling Ulquiorra's watchful eyes follow her, the Espada ready to reach out and help her if she needed it.

 

“Come on, let’s get this over and done with,” Ichigo finally said, getting a nod from Ulquiorra. Knocking on the office door, they waited until Byakuya called out for them to enter, sliding open the door, Ichigo looking around the office, one eyebrow rising up at not finding Renji in the large office area. “Where did Renji go off?” she asked, curious.

 

“He has gone out to do his daily rounds. How can I help you, Kurosaki-chan?” Byakuya asked her, placing his brush to the side as he looked at her, curiosity lurking in black eyes.

 

“I just found out something rather interesting. It seems that Rukia didn’t bother telling me that you were interested in taking to the festival. For that matter, she’s never told me about any invitations that I may have gotten, and I have a feeling that she’s been working on fucking me over from day one in some aspects of my interactions here,” Ichigo said. She flopped down onto a floor pillow that sat near Byakuya’s desk, scowling.

 

“How were you able to learn of my invitation then?” the dark haired noble asked her, a eyebrow raising. His mind was already whirling with all of the possibilities of why Rukia would keep all of Ichigo’s invitations from her, even before she turned into a she, and then turn around and lie about it.

 

“Yoruichi and Soi-Fon-san came by the training grounds and told me about it when they caught me. I have a feeling that they didn’t tell me all of it though,” Ichigo stated. She smirked at the look that she was getting from the man, Ulquiorra snorting from his place near the door. “I may be dense but I still do pick up on various things,” she huffed.

 

“So we are learning now,” Byakuya huffed, smiling lightly at her. “If you’re here to talk to me about my invitation, are you going to reject my offer or accept it?” he asked, curious about her answer, eyebrow raising. Ichigo hummed lightly as she leant back on one hand, smiling as Ulquiorra moved over to her and ran her fingers through her hair.

 

“Actually, I came here to accept it. If I had known about the invitation, I would have told you yes, much earlier,” she told the elder shinigami, her eyes darkening in thought. “But what I can’t understand is what Rukia gains from not telling me about the invites? I mean, I would kind of understand if Orihime did it at the peak of her crush, which I’m starting to think is still going, but really? Rukia, as far as I know, has no reason as to why she’s doing this shit,” Ichigo mused.

 

Byakuya nodded, not able to figure out what was going on in his sister’s head either. The revelation that she had been hiding invitations to Ichigo from various people did answer quite a few questions as to why he had never come to any of the events. But they made others crop up.

 

“I will look into her reasons. But for now, how about I pick you up about two in the afternoon on the day of the festival and we can join up with the others for an early dinner,” Byakuya suggested. Ichigo smiled slightly across from him.

 

“That sounds good to me. I need to head back to Rangiku’s place though. I have to change and then I have to go to the Eleventh division otherwise I would stay around to talk, figure out what else Rukia has been hiding from me,” Ichigo replied as she stood up, smoothing her pants down. Byakuya smiled slightly and nodded as he stood up with her. Tucking her hand into the crook of his arm, he walked her and her companion to the door, enjoying the gentle blush that barely danced over Ichigo’s cheeks.

 

“Feel free to come to the mansion, or here, for tea when you are free. You and Ulquiorra-san both,” Byakuya offered them. The two nodded in agreement before they left, heading in the direction of Rangiku’s home, leaving the Sixth Division Taicho to his thoughts.

 

Returning to his desk, he cleaned out his ink well and his brush as his eyes narrowed his eyes at the thought of Rukia so selfishly holding back information. And it hadn’t just been from Ichigo, but also the rest of her friends and those who often worked with the young shinigami. Now that he thought about it in more detail, Rukia didn’t really have much of a reason as to do such a thing.

 

“So why did she do it?” he muttered to himself.

 

It didn’t make any sense to him, no matter how he looked at it. It seemed as if he would have to have her watched for a while. He had no doubt that his lover and his lover’s friends would be willing to keep an eye on her once they knew about her keeping the invitations away from Ichigo and lying to them. But first he had to send a butterfly to his personal tailor before he did anything.

 

He would need a new kimono for his date after all. He knew that some of his older ones wouldn’t work for the festival.

 

While Byakuya was sending a butterfly to his tailor, Ichigo and Ulquiorra were arriving at Rangiku’s house, walking in through the door and stopping to pull off their shoes. Ichigo’s mind was filled with thoughts of what they had just discovered, Ulquiorra still growling on a sub-vocal level. Turning to her companion, she smiled and patted his arm before she headed towards the bathroom that she rather liked over a hot spring.

 

The hot springs were all well and good when they had time to indulge in a long soak, but just for a quick clean up, a shower was the better option.

 

“I’m going to take a quick shower before getting dressed in something fresh, and then we’ll head off to the Eleventh. Sound good to you?” Ichigo asked. Ulquiorra nodded as he headed for the kitchen, no doubt going to get a snack or check for notes from Rangiku.

 

Grabbing a pair of pants, a shirt and fresh undergarments, Ichigo paused to blush very slightly at the fact that somehow her bra and panty collection had grown again. She was going to have to try to get her sisters from buying things for her randomly.

 

With close in hand, Ichigo headed into the bathroom, closing that door behind her as she sighed lowly and shook her head, putting her things to the side. Shedding her clothes, the male turned female gazed at her body in the mirror, taking in the changes that had happened once again. Really, she had absolutely no idea what got Rangiku all hot and bothered for her. Humming a tuneless song, Ichigo turned on the shower, allowing it to heat before she stepped under it, moaning happily at the hot water that worked over her body.

 

One that that seemed to be always true for her was that she loved a good shower, but that she didn’t always have much time to spoil herself. Cleaning off the grime from her training that her soak in the hot springs hadn’t gotten off, the redhead was soon dried and dressed, muttering at the bright blue bra that wanted to try to shift in unpleasant ways. Getting it to sit, she was soon ready to leave for the Eleventh Division.

 

“Hey, Ulquiorra-san, I’m done with my shower. Did ya want to take one?” Ichigo called out as she left the bedroom, tugging at her jeans, getting them to sit right on her hips, allowing her sweater to fall down around her hips. Ulquiorra stepped out of the kitchen, already having switched out for something that was more like his uniform from Hueco Mundo.

 

“I will be fine without one until we come back from the Eleventh,” the Espada told her, getting a not as Ichigo slipped on a pair of her shoes before grabbing their copy of the house keys.

 

“Sounds good to me,” she drawled, smiling at the other man as she shoved the keys into her pocket.

 

“Here.” Ulquiorra stopped her from leaving at the door, handing over a chocolate bar that she knew for a fact had been hiding in the freezer. Taking it, she smiled up at him before she tore open the package, locking the door behind him before taking to the roofs to get to the Eleventh.

 

 


	15. A Shifting of Life 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Shifting of Life  
> Fandom: Bleach  
> Part: 14  
> Series: A Shifting World  
> Characters/Pairings: Ichigo, Ulquiorra, Kenpachi, a few OC's  
> Warnings: some talk about mean behavior  
> Word count: 1,042  
> AN: Girl talk, got to love it. *snickers* Anyways, I hope you enjoy this. I'm going back to writing and editing.
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this!
> 
> *~*~*~*

Arriving quickly at the Eleventh Division, Ichigo and Ulquiorra allowed themselves to be lead to one of the meeting rooms, greeting some of the few females of the Eleventh that were waiting for them there. Arin had dark eyes and was a plain looking woman all things considered but she was also the youngest in looks despite being the oldest in actual age. She was also one of the strongest women in the division and was the head of the teaching part of the Eleventh.

 

Meaning she had a classroom that she kept up the education of the idiots of the division.

 

Her co-teacher was Riven, who had long blue hair and was kind of short in height who also worked in the kitchen. Mari was the head cook, had black hair and black eyes and was the youngest of the three women. She also taught the basics of sword play to the Division, working under Arin during those classes. The fourth woman was a blue eyed, black haired prep cook who was called Rinini.

 

Yumichika was also in the room, surrounded by piles of fabric samples, filling them up with long fingers. Kira was smiling happily in greeting before taking some of the fabric samples and making notes about them.

 

“So what’s crackin’?” Mari greeted, drawing out a smile from Ichigo, Ulquiorra nodding to her as they took a seat at the low table. Ulquiorra drew a pile of fabric towards himself and stroked his fingers over the softness there.

 

“Outside of learning a few things about Rukia that make me question her sanity, and talking with Byakuya earlier, nothing much,” Ichigo replied as she finished off her chocolate. She licked her fingers as everyone stared at her in interest. They could just tell that whatever she had learned was juicy.

 

“Oh? Please, share this information with us,” Arin purred as she put aside a bit of silk to the side. Ulquiorra smirked, a sub-vocal growl escaping him at the thought of what they had learned. But he was still enjoying the way that Ichigo was spreading the truth of Rukia’s bullshit around and getting it out faster than anything else.

 

“No, I’m sure that you don’t want to hear about Rukia’s little fuck over,” Ichigo sighed, effectively capturing everyone’s attention perfectly, even Yumichika paying full attention to her.

 

“I can not believe that I am actually going to say this, but do share this tidbit, Ichigo-chan,” Kira said, still fingering a piece of dark gold fabric as he smirked at the redhead.

 

Ichigo just raised an eyebrow at him as she crossed her legs on the pillow, taking the cup of tea offered to her. “I rather like that color myself. Yuzu has always said that I look good in that shade by the way,” she said as she sipped the tea that Rinini had poured for her, nodding to the piece of fabric in Kira’s hands. “Anyways, Rukia had seemingly forgotten to tell me about Byakuya-san’s offer to escort me to the festival that’s coming up. If it hadn’t been for Yoruichi-chan and Soi-Fon-san coming around to the training grounds, I wouldn’t have even been here with plans for lunch with Byakuya-san and a few friends before the festival,” she said. Her eyes sparkled as the five around her all sported looks of varying degrees of anger.

 

“So, you’re tellin’ us that the little priss didn’t tell ya about the latest invite?” Rinini asked, her voice a slow drawling roll.

 

“And it’s not the first time. She’s done the same with several other invitations before now,” Ulquiorra replied, drawing everyone’s eyes to him as he fingered a patch of white fabric. Ichigo snorted and started to through the fabrics with her companion, the other’s showing a promising look between them before they turned back to the fabric. They would watch the prissy bitch for the moment before they decided what to do with her.

 

“Tell me, Kira-kun, who is it that you’re meetin’ up with at the festival?” Rinini asked, changing the subject for the moment. The blond fukutaicho shrugged with a small smile on his lips as he placed a swatch of fabric to the side to look at later.

 

“I’m going to have lunch with Renji-kun, Shuuhei-kun, Baykuya-san, and now Ichigo-san before I’m to meet up with Shunsui-san and Jushiro-san for the actual festival. We’re planning on going to see the drummers before exploring the rest of the festival,” Kira replied with a light smile dancing on his lips.

 

“I’ve nearly forgotten that you’re now nearly exclusive with those two now days,” Arin teased him, getting a blush and a snort.

 

“It’s not like I don’t play with others, but they tend to keep me happy so it’s not often that I want to play with another person,” Kira said, waving a bit of fabric around.

 

“I forgot that you were with, such as it is, Shunsui-san and Jushiro-san since it’s not often you hang out with them in public,” Ichigo said, squinting at a length of fabric. Looking up at the sudden silence that surrounded her. “What? I can notice things about people and couples to. It’s not that surprising actually. So who is paying for this? Cause I had better not be getting a bill for all of this,” she warned. Yumichika smiled and patted her arm.

 

“Kenpachi has given us permission to use some budget money to spoil you with some new kimonos,” the pretty male assured their redheaded companion. He smiled a bit wider at the look on her face.

 

“Kenpachi actually approved of this? Really?” Ichigo asked slowly, getting nods from the five before her. Turning to Ulquiorra, she huffed out, “I think I need more chocolate to process this properly.”

 

“Don’t look at me. I don’t have any more chocolate on my person,” was the drawled reply, making her pout unhappily at the news.

 

“Fucking hell,” she muttered, making the other woman around her laugh and tease her about her sudden chocolate addiction. They laughed more when she drawled out that she had had the chocolate addiction for longer than she had been a chick.

  
  


 

 


	16. A Shifting of Life 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Shifting of Life  
> Fandom: Bleach  
> Part: 15  
> Series: A Shifting World  
> Characters/Pairings: Ichigo/Kenapchi  
> Warnings: making out  
> Word count: 1,505  
> AN: Just enjoy some originals, but I hope that you enjoy the story. I really do hope you guys are very much enjoying it.
> 
> Hugs and kisses everyone!
> 
> *~*~*~*

“You do know that women are multi-orgasmic right, Ulquiorra-san?” Airn suddenly asked as she wrote down some ideas for Ichigo’s kimono to come, smirking at the Espada.

 

Ichigo promptly went red as she groaned lowly, hiding her face in her hands. Granted, she knew from her own experiences and talks with her father that women were able to have multiple orgasms, but that didn’t mean that she wanted to talk about that very interesting fact.

 

“I have heard about that particular fact,” Ulquiorra replied smoothly. “I have in fact tested it myself. I have slept with men and women after all,” he continued. He was unfazed by the curious looks on the four women’s faces, Yumichika and Kira trying hard to ignore the current conversation. They didn’t need to have sex with Ichigo. Or any of the other women who were in the same room as they were.

 

Or Ulquiorra for that matter.

 

After all, despite the fact that everyone got a cool attitude from the Arrancar, they still couldn’t help but find him sexually attractive.

 

“While you all discuss the amazing abilities of the female form, I’m going to take over these numbers to Kenpachi and set up a time to get dinner with him since I promised to do that. Seeing as I can’t spar with him until I’m used to this form again,” Ichigo huffed. She gathered her papers up and walked out of the conference room with a huff, Ulquiorra opting to stay behind and discuss the security of the festival.

 

Stopping off in the female guest bathrooms for a few minutes, Ichigo soon found Kenpachi’s office, knocking on the door before she opened it. She smiled at the sight of Kenpachi sitting behind his desk, looking like he was doing some paperwork, and Yachiru not in the office.

 

“Hey there,” Ichigo greeted as she closed the door behind her. “You, Kenpachi, have some seriously perverted women working for you,” she complained, getting a snort in response from the large man.

 

“They have ta be tough and slightly perverted ta last here, Ichigo,” Kenpachi rumbled, running his eyes over her sleek form. A subtle shift in her scent told him that he probably didn’t want to know the cause of her sudden flinch, but he did open a drawer to pull out a bar of bittersweet chocolate that his fruity ass fifth seat made him keep for the women of the Eleventh. It seemed as it had been the right move when Ichigo smiled and took the bar.

 

“So, I have the number for the kimono’s that you got for me. Which by the way, I will have to thank you for,” Ichigo said, breaking off a bit of chocolate and delicately biting down on it. Licking her lips, she used one hand to shuffle her papers around before she handed them over. “The under fabric is actually what will end up costing the most, seeing as it’s a color that is a bitch to make apparently. The outer kimonos and obi cost less when combined than the darn thing,” she told him, occasionally taking a bite of chocolate. She handed over the papers with her neat scrawl on it.

 

“How much is it gonna cost me?” Kenpachi grunted. He was trying to ignore the way that Ichigo was enjoying her chocolate, looking down at the papers, an eyebrow heading for his hairline at the number that greeted him.

 

“We’re actually saving close to seventy-three thousand yen by having Mari sew the kimono and then finish it off with the details,” Ichigo told him, smirking. “Mind you, you’re going to have several men free to put to work for the rest of the week, but that’s still money back into the budget. Especially since she’s only taking her usual pay to do this.”

 

“So she is. And I can have tha men clean everythin’ up for tha festival,” Kenpachi grunted, looking up at Ichigo, eyebrows furrowing. “So it should cost us just over ninety-eight thousand yen, give or take a couple hundred?” he asked.

 

“As long as nothing goes wrong in the long run, yeah,” was the reply as Ichigo turned back to her chocolate. “She’s planning on using the scraps for other projects apparently, so next to no waste.” The scarred taicho grunted and returned to the paperwork, making sure that Rinini had filled it out properly. Signing off on it, he noticed that Ichigo had finished her chocolate was looking content enough once again.

 

“Now, about a way to thank you,” she said, having thought about what she wanted to do, she stood up and walked over to the large man, watching the way his eyes darkened as she walked. Straddling Kenpachi’s lap, she blushed ever so lightly at her rather bold actions. As it was, she had entertained thoughts of the taicho of the Eleventh Division, but to actually go through with her thoughts?

 

Kenpachi was looking like he was really happy about what she was doing by the way he was leering up at her, his hands coming to rest on her hips.

 

“And what were ya thinkin’ about doin’ as thanks?” Kenpachi rumbled, the thumbs of his hands rubbing over the curve of her hip, finding the hem of her shirt and teasing it up.

 

“Well, as much as we may want to do more, there’s not really a whole lot that I can actually do at the moment. So would just a kiss do for now?” Ichigo asked, her own hands coming to rest on Kenpachi’s shoulders as she shifted and getting comfortable on his lap. The large male eyed his smaller companion before he leered once more and moved his hands, he groped the firm ass that had taunted him, even when Ichigo had been a guy.

 

“I can deal with that,” he growled, getting a low laugh from her as she wiggled her hips just slightly.

 

“Feel proud of yourself. Outside of you, I’ve only actually kissed one other person,” she hummed, leaning forward to brush her lips over Kenpachi’s thin ones.

 

“I’m feeling rather special,” Kenpachi rumbled, rather liking the softness of Ichigo’s lips and body so close to his own, teasing him in a most delicious way. He prefered rough and fast sex, the kind where you ended up dirty and panting and dazed. But on occasion he did enjoy the softness that came with inexperience or just plain shyness when it came to anything sexual.

 

“You should be,” Ichigo chuckled, drawing Kenpachi back out of his thoughts. Smirking, the large man once more squeezed the ass under his hands, rather loving the squeak that he got.

 

“Are you going to just tease me all day long or are ya gonna actually kiss me now?” Kenpachi drawled, getting a low laugh once more before Ichigo slanted her lush lips over his own. The man growled lowly and easily deepened the kiss, tongue sliding over Ichigo’s bottom lip.

 

Moaning into the kiss, the sweet female in his lap allowed her mouth to open, letting him slide his own tongue into her mouth, teasing Ichigo’s into playing with him. Ichigo mewled happily and pressed close, finding the hard chest that pressed against her own delightful in the way it rubbed against her breasts. Moaning, the red head wrapped her arms around Kenpachi’s neck, feeling desire curl through her body, rubbing against the large man, feeling his growl rumble through her body.

 

Pulling away from the kiss after a bit, Ichigo licked her lips, Kenpachi smiling smugly at the fullness that they had, a spread of red across her cheeks. Reaching up, he stroked a thumb gently over the sweet redness, smiling when she leant into the touch. He was rather enjoying the softness of her body and the way she was happy to just press against him oh so nicely.

 

“Your guard dog is comin’ ta the office,” Kenpachi rumbled as he ran a hand up and down Ichigo’s back as she hummed quietly. She nodded.

 

“I should get ready to head back to Rangiku’s then. I’ll see you later,” she said, sliding off of his lap with a smile to him. Pressing one last quick kiss to his lips, she stood up, still feeling desire work through her body. Walking to the door, she was hardly surprised to find that Ulquiorra was standing there with his hand raised to knock. Blushing at the knowing look in dark green eyes, Ichigo dragged the pale Arrancar off with one last wave over her shoulder to Kenpachi.

 

Once Kenpachi felt the two disappear from the grounds of the Eleventh, he blew out a slow breath, dropping back onto the floor and feeling his dick throb in protest.

 

Who knew that it would take a female Ichigo to really get his libido to take charge instead of just fueling his lust for battle with the guy?

  
  


 

 


	17. A Shifting of Life 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Shifting of Life  
> Fandom: Bleach  
> Part: 16  
> Series: A Shifting World  
> Characters/Pairings: Ichigo/Kenapchi  
> Warnings: making out  
> Word count: 1,231  
> AN: And really, I do post three chapters at a time. When I rewrite three stories, I repost three! That's how it goes.
> 
> *~*~*~*

Watching as the still blushing Ichigo headed into her bedroom, Ulquiorra settled down into a chair, his eyes bored as he waited for her to come back out. He was thinking over just why it was that he was feeling so possessive over the young woman that had once been a young man. Even before she had been forcibly turned, he had wanted to sleep with Ichigo, but now that he was a she, he felt a stronger desire to take her to bed. To keep her safe and sound. It made him worry about his mental capabilities.

 

Shaking his head free of his thoughts, Ulquiorra stifled the moan that wanted to come out, and rubbed the bridge of his nose with a sigh instead. He was still worried though about what he was going to do about the feelings that he had growing for the young woman who had gone through so very much already. Doing something that he rarely did and only when alone, he rubbed at his face with his hands as the sound of running water reached his ears. Shaking his head once again, he stood and moved to the desk that they had set up for communication with Aizen.

 

He still had to send a letter to Aizen, updating him on what had been going on in the last few weeks. He had absolutely no doubt that Aizen would be on the upset side at some of the news that was to send him. Finding pen and paper, he started to write.

 

_Aizen-sama,_

 

_I bring news of Ichigo-san and how she has been fairing._

 

_I have found myself adapting rather well to working alongside the Shinigami, finding that many of them remind me of the other Arrancar that are under your command. It does make me wonder just how the now dead, former sou-taicho was able to keep his many sins hidden for so long with so many around him that were willing to question and look._

 

_Since we have arrived in Soul Society, we have found ourselves very busy, nearly to the point where we rarely see the house that we have been allowed to stay at._

 

_To start at the beginning, nearly four hours after we arrived in the Seireitei, the current sou-taicho, one Unohana Retsu, called together every friend that Ichigo has, and gave them the news of Ichigo’s unwilling gender shift. They seem to take it rather well, some others more so than what seemed proper for the moment. Once we had gotten the Shinigami updated on Ichigo’s status, Matsumoto Rangiku, fukutaicho of the Tenth Division, opened her hope for our extended stay._

 

_During the new few hours after that, her father, Kurosaki Isshin, and her teacher, Urahara Kisuke, had arrived and were told of the circumstances of what had led her to her physical change._

 

_I suggest that you do one of two things with Szayel should Isshin comes for him. Either hide him or wrap him up in a bow if you do not mind losing an Espada for an extended period of time._

 

_Urahara-san had taken it upon himself to find a cure since he arrived, opening one of his original, personal labs here, much to the Twelfth Divisions current taicho’s unhappiness. I have taken to keeping a wary eye on the man due to his rather intense, and as Ichigo calls it, creepy interest in her. she seems to have taken to enjoying sneering at him now whenever she see’s him more than for a split second._

 

_To continue on, the next day, her human friends were able to gather in the Seireitei to be told. Unfortunately, not everyone was happy or accepting of her chances. One Inoue Orihime, one of Ichigo-san’s supposed friends, was extremely unhappy about the changes and expressed that unhappiness. Words were exchanged and she quickly left the Soul Society to think._

 

_Luckily, the rest of Ichigo’s human friends were understanding of the circumstances that came to be, which helped to soothe the agitated Ichigo-san._

 

_Sado-san and I have long since come to an understanding concerning her safety before he had to leave for the human world once more._

 

Pausing in his writing, Ulquiorra tapped his pen on the desk top as he gathered his scattered thoughts back together, hearing the shower turn off in the bathroom.

 

_During the last two weeks though, Ichigo-san has show just how adaptable she is, training herself to fight as a female. She grows everyday in leaps and bounds, learning more and more with every hour that she practices. She has also found the ability to control her massive amount of reitsu now that it had been disturbed long enough for her to do so._

 

_There have been some new developments in the last few hours though, making me worry about what is about to come and what is brewing beneath the surface._

 

_One Kuchiki Rukia, the younger sister of Kuchiki Byakuya, has been hiding invitations and information from Ichigo-san while also spreading rumors about her. Originally, it was thought that it had only been Orihime that was spreading out such rumors, but we have since found out that it was also Rukia._

 

_With each day that I’m here, I find myself adding more and more people to my list of those who must be watched. And watched extremely closely. It worries me._

 

Sighing as he finished off his letter, he dropped the pen down into the desk before she carefully folded the letter. Sliding it into an envelope, he dropped it into a box, one that had been set up the day after he been allowed to stay in Rangiku’s home, watching as it dissolve, most likely reappearing in Hueco Mundo. Looking up, he felt a bit of surprise curl through him when he saw Ichigo, finding that she was wearing a pair of pants that covered her feet, and a giant shirt that she admitted to stealing from her father.

 

“All done with your letter?” she asked him, raising an eyebrow at the Espada.

 

“Yes, I have finished it. I can see that you have seen your shower,” he said, getting a nod and slight smile from her. “I have updated Aizen-sama on what is going on here and hope to hear back from him in the next few days.”

 

“That’s good then. I’ll write a letter and fill in the times when you’re not around me I suppose,” Ichigo hummed, eyeing the desk with a thoughtful look.

 

“You do not need to if you do not wish to. Aizen-san will send any questions he has with his next letter,” Ulquiorra stated, moving towards the hall, intent on his own shower. “I believe that I will take a shower now.”

 

“I’ll make food while you do that,” Ichigo stated, looking away from the desk, a slight smirk twitching on her lips. Ulquiorra nodded, not asking about the smirk, walking into their shared room to gather clothes and then into the bedroom. Listening to the sounds of water turning on a few minutes later, Ichigo set about cooking for the two of them, deciding to make enough for a third person after thinking about it. She had no doubt about the fact that Rangiku would end up arriving home soon enough, and with a need to eat something other than sweet things.

  
  


 

 


	18. A Shifting of Life 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Shifting of Life  
> Fandom: Bleach  
> Part: 17  
> Series: A Shifting World  
> Characters/Pairings: Rangiku, Byakuya, Renji  
> Warnings: None   
> Word count: 1,231  
> AN: Last one for this round. Smoochies!
> 
> *~*~*~*

Staring at herself in the full length mirror, Ichigo wrinkled her nose at the kimono that she was wearing for the festival, smoothing her hands down the front of it as she checked the obi again. The group that had gathered to decide on the kimono had decided to use a soft black fabric that had light rose pink ribbons that ran around her legs, up her hips and chest. One ribbon bloomed over her heart into a flower while the other bloomed over her thigh, making her smile.

 

She had wanted a softer color for the main fabric but she had to admit that the black made the soft color pop.

 

The obi though was the pale gold fabric she had liked, smaller flowers dotting it, the under length of it the same light rose pink color as the ribbons on her kimono. A single red line split the obi in the middle and made her huff softly at it as she smoothed out the last of the wrinkles in it. Rangiku giggled behind her and bounced a bit in her own dark blue kimono, the bright gold flowers that splashed up the bottom half of it flashing in the low light.

 

“Oh, Ichigo-chan, you’re just so pretty,” Rangiku cooed at her happily, her eyes dancing as Ichigo blushed and played with the kimono sleeves. “Here, sit down and let me fix your hair. I’m kind of surprised that it’s grown out so much in the last few weeks,” she said, waving a hand to Ichigo’s vanity bench. Sitting down, the young redhead sighed and shook her head with an amused look.

 

“My hair has always grown pretty fast. Yuzu used to have to trim it back every couple of weeks for me,” she admitted. Rangiku squeaked even as she started to brush out the long hair with a comb, working out all of the tangles and getting it to lay in soft waves down Ichigo’s back, the shorter strands in the front curling around Ichigo’s face. Smiling, she snorted and used a simple bland of black with small pale roses sitting on it to coax those strands to smooth back.

 

“Well it still looks good on you. And aren’t you so glad that your dear Aunt Flow has left?” Rangiku teased, getting a low powered glare from the young woman.

 

“I’m not going out planning on getting laid if that’s what you mean,” Ichigo sniffed in insult, causing Rangiku to laugh and shake her head.

 

“No, no. I figure that Kuchiki-taicho is too much of a gentleman to pounce on ya and make ya scream loud and long,” she purred, running her eyes over the lean body. She loved the way that Ichigo still blushed at her words and look.

 

“Oh shut up, Rangiku-chan,” Ichigo grumped, pouting at her surprisingly close friend before she rolled her eyes. Looking in the mirror and adjust the headband slightly, she jumped at bit at the loud knock that came from the front door, her eyes widening as she turned to look at Rangiku. “He’s here…” she got out before turning into a stuttering mess. “I...I don’t…” Rangiku was the one to roll her eyes before she smiled at the younger female.

 

“You just stay put and let me grab him so that you don’t have to worry about coming out until you get your nerves under control,” Rangiku soothed, getting a nod before she left the bedroom.

 

Ichigo took slow deep breaths, working to get the butterflies in her stomach back under some kind of control as she listened to Rangiku’s footsteps head to the front door before she heard it opening.

 

“Hello, Kuchiki-taicho. You’re here to pick up Ichigo for lunch right?” she asked, stepping aside to let the taicho in. Byakuya had decided to go with a simple gray kimono with a koi swimming up the bottom of his kimono. He was looking rather pleased with himself.

 

“Yes, I am, Matsumoto-fukutaicho. Please, feel free to drop the taicho title when we are off duty,” Byakuya said, getting a bright smile from the busty blond as she nodded.

 

“Only as long as you do me the honor of calling me Rangiku and drop the fukutaicho title. Ichigo-chan will be out in a few if you don’t mind waiting for her,” she chirped, getting a small nod. “Let me go and see if she’s ready to head out with you or not,” she said, closing the door behind them, heading to Ichigo’s bedroom, her hair swinging.

 

Ichigo looked up at her when she walked in, smiling sheepishly at her friend and sometimes lover as she tucked away her fan and small purse. “I take it he’s waiting huh?” she asked, not surprised when Rangiku smiled and nodded.

 

“Yep. Now come on, Ichigo-chan, you look awesome. Go out there and have a great time with your seriously hot, very powerful, really rich date. and then you can come back and tell me all about your date,” Rangiku said, leading Ichigo out of the bedroom with a smile on her lips. Ichigo just huffed at her and shook her head, letting the blond lead her out of the room. “Now, I want you to truly enjoy your night. Don’t do anything that I wouldn’t do.”

 

“You are known to do a lot, Rangiku-san. That tends to leave very little for Ichigo-san to not do,” Byakuya drawled from where he was standing. He smiled at the flushed and flustered Ichigo, getting a smile in return from her. “You look stunning, Ichigo-san,” he greeted, taking her hand in his own and kissing the back of it lightly, watching her blush darken just a bit.

 

“Thank you, Byakuya. And can we please just drop that -san from my name?” she asked. Byakuya smiled and nodded as he tucked her hand into the crook of his own arm, stroking the back of it. “Who are we going to meet for lunch again?” she asked.

 

“Renji-san, Shuuhei-san, along with a few others,” Byakuya told her as they walked out of the house, leaving Rangiku standing in the doorway. She giggled and waved at them before she closed the door to finish getting ready. She knew that Ulquiorra would meet the two at the restaurant after his last minute fitting of his own kimono.

 

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Ichigo said, smiling up at him as she was lead up to an open topped carriage, making her blink in surprise at it. “Byakuya-san?” she asked, looking up at him with wide eyes, tilting her head to the carriage.

 

“It’s far easier to ride in a carriage then it is to walk to the festival, especially in kimonos. We’ll most likely be giving a ride to Yumichika, Ikkaku, and most likely, Rangiku and Renji after lunch if she is there,” Byakuya explained, opening the small door to get into the carriage. Helping her up to step into the carriage, he followed after her and nodded at the man who was driving the carriage. It jerked as it started forward before it smoothed out as they headed towards the restaurant, Ichigo smiling as she watched everything pass them by, her eyes sparkling with pleasure.

 

She was able to forget, just for a short time granted, that she wasn’t supposed to be a female, that she wasn’t having to work on retraining herself to keep her balance and that she wasn’t trying to plan on how to strangle a pink haired Arrancar the next time that she saw him. They finally stopped before a small restaurant, the dark wood front making Ichigo smile as she stared at it. Renji, Yumichika, Ikkaku, Shuhei, Momo, Kira, and Kenpachi were already there, Yachiru near by at a small stall buying something in an adorable bright pink kimono. The rest wore kimonos that ranged in colors from green to some of the lighter reds, various patterns splashed over the colors.

 

“Hey there, gorgeous,” Renji greeted, getting a sweeter smile as he helped Ichigo down from the carriage and onto the ground, letting her step to the side. Byakuya followed after and shared a smile with his lover, Ichigo smirking next to him.

 

“Oh, just go ahead and kiss the poor boy. He looks like he’s dying to,” she drawled, brushing a hand over her kimono. The two turned to stare at her with surprised eyes, tilting their heads. “Once more, I am observant about some things.”

 

Smirking at her as she shook his head, Byakuya reached out and drew Renji into a quick, deep kiss, Ichigo watching and biting at her thumbnail, feeling a well known curl of heat that came from her own lust. “Now that is yummy. Come on you two, I want to eat sometime this decade,” she chirped as the two continued to kiss, drawing them apart with a smile.

 

Smiling into the kiss, the two pulled away and wrapped their arms around her waist instead of each others, leading her into the restaurant. It looked as if she had two dates instead of just one, and that was perfectly fine with her.

  
  


 

 


	19. A Shifting of Life 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Shifting of Life  
> Fandom: Bleach  
> Part: 18  
> Series: A Shifting World  
> Characters/Pairings: Ichigo, Byakuya, Renji, Shuhei, Kenpachi, some Yachiru, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Kira, Momo, Ulquiorra  
> Warnings: Cursing and massive Ikkaku-libido teasing  
> Word count: 1,806  
> AN: Why yes, life is kicking my ass, but I'm getting this shit done! It's just taking me forever and a day. *sighs* I still hope you guys enjoy this!
> 
> Hugs!
> 
> *~*~*~*

Sitting at the table between Renji and Byakuya, Ichigo gazed over the menu before she frowned, flipping it open and looking at the prices that were presented to her. “You have got to be joking me,” she snorted, her eyes wide in surprise at just how much it was to eat there. “Over seven hundred yen for a single pot of tea?” he asked, looking to his date. “I don’t think that I’ve ever spent so much on tea in a single sitting.”

 

“Stop looking at the prices of things and calm down. I’m paying for your lunch so you don’t have to worry about that,” Byakuya stated, smiling softly at the shocked female next to him. “I am your date along with a noble and taicho. I have the money to spend on you,” he promised, getting a slight nod as she looked back to the menu, reading it over very carefully. She decided that the least she could do was not insult the man and buy for taste instead of price.

 

Sighing as she looked up to see the waitress walking up to them, smiling brightly at the group and her eyes trailing over the men at the table, Ichigo noticed that she eyed her and Momo, her smile tightening on her face. Ichigo just raised an eyebrow at her, turning to Byakuya to smile sweetly up at him, her hand coming to rest on his wrist.

 

“I think that I will go for the tea. Can you tell me what the best ones are here? I have a feeling that you and the others have been here before she said. Byakuya gave her a knowing look before sliding her hand into his own and kissed the back of it with a low laugh.

 

“I do know. We would like a medium pot of the Bu-Bu green tea for me and my date. The check will be separate for me, Renji, and Ichigo-chan,” he stated, turning to the waitress who nodded. She wrote down the order.

 

“Byakuya-san, I can cover my own check, no worries,” Renji protested lowly, leaning slightly over Ichigo who just huffed and elbowed him in the gut with a dry look.

 

“Don’t insult the one who is offering to pay for your food. If it makes you feel better, just pay for the next date,” Ichigo told him. Byakuya smiled and nodded in agreement. Renji huffed and nodded, sitting back as he let the others give her their orders.

 

“Me and Yumi here will have the same tea, medium pot,” Ikkaku stated, not looking up from his menu. “I’ll pay for our check this time. I think Kira and Momo are gonna share a check to.”

 

“We are actually. We’d also like some Bu-Bu white tea, medium, with honey on the side,” Kira stated after talking with Momo for a moment. The waitress once more smiled brightly.

 

“Sake, warm please,” Kenpachi told her before pointing at Yachiru. “And juice for her. Something citrus like. And I’m coverin’ Shuhei today since he helped Yachiru last month.”

 

“Bu-Bu white tea, small pot, and a small bottle of sake for after dinner,” Shuhei said, his smooth voice drawing Kenpachi’s eye, the large man leering. He was hoping to be able to get laid later that night and the young fukutaicho was looking to fulfill that particular need from what he could tell.

  
“Of course. I’ll be right back with your drinks,” the waitress said, leaving them with one last look, causing Momo and Ichigo to snort their laughter.

 

“She was totally eye fucking you guys. Wasn’t she, Ichigo-chan?” Momo asked, smoothing down her dark blue kimono sleeve, making sure that the embroidered koi fish wasn’t coming unfurled for any reason.

 

“Oh yeah, she was. I think that my hand would have been burnt by how hot her glare was when I dared to touch Byakuya,” Ichigo said, picking up her water glass and sipping at it. “And before you asked, even before I could tell when someone was eye fucking another person, I still can’t really tell if another person is doing that to me.” Ikkaku moaned under his breath and shifted, pouting as Yumichika patted his shoulder. “And what’s wrong with you this time?”

 

“I apparently like it when you say fucking,” Ikkaku complained as he glared down at his traitorous length that was twitching happily in his fundoshi.

 

“Ah. So you like it when I talk dirty, do you?” Ichigo asked as she smirked at him. A mischievous look entered her eyes, leaning on one elbow as the others watched the amusement. They all had to wonder what she was going to do now that she knew one of Ikkaku’s kinks, especially since they had discovered that she did flirt. You just had to know what to look for. “Well then. Fuck,” she said, drawing the word out, making it roll out of her mouth in a purr. Renji choked on his water at the sound of the normally spat word sounding like it was dripping in sex. Ikkaku just moaned and let his head thump onto the table.

 

“Ichigo-san, stop teasing the poor fool before he damages his brain,” Ulquiorra drawled as he walked up to the table and took the last seat next to Kira, who promptly blushed and played with his water glass. “I am sorry that I am late. I had to stop by Rangiku-san’s house,” he said, getting a nod. “I’ll have the same thing to drink as they will please,” he said, feeling the waitress walk up behind them at the sight of a new customer sitting down at her table.

 

To her, he was rather handsome, the oddly shaped piece of bone notwithstanding.

 

“Yes, sir,” she chirped, getting a blank look from Ulquiorra as she placed the various tea pots and bottle of sake down along with the cups before sweeping off to grab another pot of Bu-Bu green tea. Shaking his head, the Espada settled into his seat and smiled slightly as Ichigo served both Byakuya and Renji before serving herself. He knew that she would have done the same thing if she was her normal gender, but even then it would have looked sweet.

 

“I swear that our dear waitress gets in more eyefucking then she does perkiness into her voice,” Ichigo mused as she poured a bit of honey for the back of her warmed spoon, having dunked it into the tea. Stirring it, she smiled lightly to herself as Ikkaku once more shifted, cursing under his breath about hot redheads and their tendency to cuss.

 

“Can you please stop doing that to me?” the bald shinigami whined, getting an innocent look from Ichigo.

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Stop doing what?” Ichigo asked sweetly. The group snickered into their tea cups, a smirk dancing on Ulquiorra’s lips as Ikkaku just looked at her long and hard.

 

“You can seriously pull off that innocent act a bit too well. Watch out there, Bya-kun, you have a wild one with the face of an angel on your hands there,” Kenpachi drawled, getting a small smirk from the man.

 

“I believe that Renji and I will be able to keep her well in hand. And I have no doubt at all that Ulquiorra-san will help us happily,” Byakuya replied, his eyes glinting in amusement as Ichigo laughed, smacking at his arm.

 

“Oh do behave,” she huffed, pouting teasingly before she shook her head. The waitress soon came back with Ulquiorra’s tea, placing it down before she took their meal orders, bouncing off after with a flirtatious wink to Ikkaku. The man rolled his eyes. “Do you think that she was relatively young when she came here?” Ichigo asked curiously. “She seems to be much more open to flirting and winking at men obviously on a date. Probably from the early to mid-nineties.”

 

“Most likely. As you said, no more than fifty years dead,” Yumichika drawled as she watched the waitress with a dark glare on his face. “If she keeps this up though, I say that we don’t tip her. I do know that she’s either really new to working here or she just doesn’t care if she loses her tip. I know that they tend to be paid well while working here.”

 

“Stop frownin’ there, Yumi. You’ll end up with wrinkles and I don’t want to have ta listen to ya to go on about them for the next three weeks,” Kenpachi grunted, watching as Yachiru happily colored on something or another. He was just glad that Renji had slipped it to her to keep her entertained and not try to commit homicide again. He _really_ hated filling out paperwork.

 

“Wrinkles? No fucking way,” Yumichika squeaked, feeling his face for those wrinkles. Ikkaku glared at Kenpachi before he turned back to his lover to assure him that his face was perfect and gorgeous and nothing was wrong with it.

 

“Yumichika-san, you look beautiful. As you always do. So calm yourself down, our meal should be here soon,” Shuuhei said, smiling at the beautiful male, getting a blush from him.

 

Ichigo was blushing slightly as she realized just what having so many males that had voices made for sin was doing to her as she shifted in her seat, picking up her cup. Sipping at her tea, she worked to get her body back under control as Ulquiorra sent her a heated and knowing look out of the corner of his eye.

 

It was looking as if he was going to have a partner who could give him what he wanted for the night. Or maybe just until Ichigo either found her own male lover or decided to sleep with him. Whatever came first. By the looks of it, the young blond fukutaicho was looking for a partner, softly colored eyes sweeping to him often. He would have to see how things ended going in the long run.

 

The rest of the dinner after the food was delivered was spent talking about the various divisions and how things worked for them, the Shinigami instructing Ichigo and Ulquiorra on it. They kept the information about what happened amongst the various lovers and those who preferred to sleep around for another time. Any of the tension that had come up during their talk was easily washed away in a pleasant manner instead of making those who felt it deal with it on their own.

 

It wasn’t long after they had dessert that they had paid for the meals and headed to the carriages. Ichigo found herself comfortably squeezed between Renji and Byakuya with Ulquiorra sitting across from them.

  
  


 

 


	20. A Shifting of Life 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Shifting of Life  
> Fandom: Bleach  
> Part: 19  
> Series: A Shifting World  
> Characters/Pairings: Ichigo, Byakuya, Renji, and for a short time: Shuhei, Kenpachi, Yachiru, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Kira, Momo, Ulquiorra  
> Warnings: does adorableness warrant a warning?  
> Word count: 1,320  
> AN: Let me tell ya guys, there are 49 chapters plus a prologue (bringing it up to 50 chapters). As I write this (since by the time I actually post this I'll be closer to finished), I have finished off 19 chapters of this rewrite. 
> 
> That leaves me 31 more chapters to do...
> 
> Good lord.
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!
> 
> As of this posting: I have actually finished rewriting 31 chapters and have 19 more chapters to do.
> 
> *~*~*~*

“Oh wow,” Ichigo breathed as she leant over Renji’s lap, her hands curled over the side of the carriage as she stared at the rather large festival that they were getting closer to. Renji smiled slightly as he tucked a bit of her hair back out of her face, shaking his head at her awe. “The Living World doesn’t have anything like this,” she finally said as she sat back down much to the three male’s silent disappointment.

 

Unknowing to her, Byakuya and Ulquiorra had been enjoying the view that they had of the curve of her back as it went down to her well formed ass. While they had enjoyed the view, Renji had been enjoying the warmth of her body pressing against his own.

“It’s not all that surprisin’, Ichigo-chan,” Renji said, smiling as he watched her continue to take in the sights. The carriage pulled up to the front gate where they would be handed a pamphlet that would tell them where everything was, and stopped with a light jerk. The driver climbed down from the front of it, pulling down the steps that came attached to the carriage, and bowed as Ulquiorra stepped off first, taking in the size of the festival.

The Espada was garnering several curious, and some wary, looks that he was ignoring, feeling when their attention turned to Renji as he stepped down and patted him on the back with a friendly smile. The other male then turned around to offer his hand to Ichigo, the redhead smiled and gingerly stepped down, finding that the female style of kimonos were a bit more restricting. She really didn’t want to tear the fabric or stitches, running the beautiful work that had been done on it with a misplaced foot or hand.

Byakuya hovered behind her, standing ready to help if she needed him before he stepped down after her, nodding at the driver. The man climbed back in after shoving the steps backup, driving away. The four stood before the entrance to the festival, Ichigo sliding her hand into the crook of Byakuya’s elbow, holding herself from bouncing at the thought of the fun that they were about to have.

“Ichigo-chan!” Yachiru called out to them, appearing out of nowhere and wrapping her small arms around Ichigo’s waist, smiling up at her happily.

“I see that you two got here without any troubles,” Ichigo greeted, smoothing down pink hair and getting a happy giggle from the young girl.

“Kenny-chan rented us a carriage to bring us and some of tha others since Pretty-chan didn’t want to walk in his new kimono,” Yachiru chirped at her happily, allowing Ichigo to pick her up and prop her on one hip.

“Oh? Is that so? Well, I’m sure that Yumichika is happy about that fact,” she said, smiling at the child as Rangiku, Yumichika, Kenpachi, Ikkaku, Shuhei, Kira, and Mom walked up to them. Momo had a slightly strained smile on her face as Kira and Shuhei glared over at her, the others choosing to ignore it for the moment. “So wanna tell me what happened between here and the restaurant?” Ichigo asked Shuhei, the man coming to stand next to her.

“On the way over she started on her spiel about how Aizen is the only one who is worthy of being God and the King of Souls. She insulted us in one way or another. Not in any way that we can really complain about since it wasn’t stated explicitly, but it was heavily suggested at,” he told Ichigo lowly. Ichigo frowned as he stared at Momo.

 

“I suppose that I’ll be sending a letter to Aizen the next time that Ulquiorra sends in a report. Tell him about her and maybe he can figure out just what happened with her,” Ichigo mused softly. She hefted Yachiru higher onto her hip, getting a happy giggle from the child. Smiling down at Yachiru, she missed the curious look on Shuhei’s face.

“What do you mean? I thought that he was the one who did this to her,” he said, curious about what she meant. Everyone turned to look at them as Ichigo snorted and shook her head, smirking at them.

“You would think so, but actually, no, he didn’t do it. He was nice to her, as any taicho should have been, and that was about it really. He was worried about her mental state when he was forced to start the war, but he couldn’t really do anything about it since he was needed elsewhere,” Ichigo said, shrugging with a smile. “So it really wasn’t his fault that she is so obsessed with him. And I have a feeling that it freaks him out actually,” she said, snickering at the dark glare that Momo leveled at her.

“Come along. Let us go in, shall we? If anything, we can all meet up on the hill for the fireworks display, yes?” Byakuya suggested.

 

Kira held up a hand with a soft smile. “Just a moment, Kuchiki-san, I have a surprise for Ichigo-chan,” he said as he waved over two very familiar figures, making her smile brightly at seeing her friends. “I went and picked them up last night so that they would join us. Unfortunately, Orihime-san didn’t wish to come, Sado-san is working tonight, and Tatsuki-san is laid up in bed with a broken leg from a training accident. But Keigo-san and Mizuiro-san was happy to come and enjoy the festival with us.”

 

“That, and I get to just hang out with friends and finally get to introduce Mizuiro-kun to everyone in a better setting,” Keigo drawled, hugging Ichigo, getting it returned by the female with one arm. Yachiru waved at him from Ichigo’s other arm. Mizuiro got his own hug before he looked over Ichigo with a small smile on his lips.

“You look wonderful, Ichigo-chan,” he said in greeting, the group watching as Ichigo blushed from the compliment.

“Thank you, Mizuiro. And thank you, you two, for coming to the festival. But I don’t want you guys feeling as if you have to follow me around all day. This goes for you to, Ulquiorra. Go get to know others and enjoy yourself today,” she said, smiling at her friends. The Espada tilted his head in acknowledgement of her words before he moved closer to Kira, watching as the young blond blushed slightly.

“Shall we head into the festival?” Byakuya asked, holding out his hand to Ichigo, smiling when she took it with a pleased smile. Leading his date past the gates, the group scattered, Renji deciding to stick close to Byakuya and Ichigo, wanting to spend some time with them.

It was long before they found themselves surrounded by games, all of them enjoying the festivities going around them. The two men found themselves enjoying it even more as they watched Ichigo relax, staring in delight at all of the activities, even as she tried her hand at a few. By the time that they decided to stop for a snack, Byakuya had won her a large handcrafted blanket and Renji had won a large lion like toy that oddly reminded Ichigo of Kon’s plush body.

She snickered as she thought of Kon and shared it with the two males when they gave her curious looks. Both of them smirked at the thought with her. They left the game alley and headed for the food stalls, scents of various delightful goodies leading them towards the stalls easily.

 

They came to a stop, Byakuya frowning slightly, finding that Rukia was standing near the seating area, glaring at a bored looking Ulquiorra. Kira frowned at her from his seat next to the Espada but there was an undercurrent of worry coming from him.

 

The three companions wondered what had happened.

  
  


 

 


	21. A Shifting of Life 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Shifting of Life  
> Fandom: Bleach  
> Part: 20  
> Series: A Shifting World  
> Characters/Pairings: Ichigo, Byakuya, Renji, Rukia, Ulquiorra, Hanataro, Kira  
> Warnings: Verbal smackdown/sparring  
> Word count: 1,388  
> AN: Ooh, I had FUN with this one. *cackles* My friend called me mean to my characters before cackling with me while I was rewriting this. I love it. :D
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> *~*~*~*

Byakuya cleared all emotion off of his face before he spoke. “What is going on here?” he asked, his voice cold as he, Ichigo, and Renji walked up to the group, eyebrow raising.

 

“Renji-kun, you mind going to get me some dango? Something sweet I think for today,” Ichigo said softly, smiling up at the redhead, getting a nod from the man. Renji took the pouch of money that was offered to him by a still blank-faced Byakuya.

 

“Dango would be nice. There should be enough in there for all three of us. You know what I like,” Byakuya said, glaring his sister down when she went to speak.

 

The three knew what would end up happening if Renji was in the same area as Rukia when she started to complain about something or another. Ichigo and Byakuya though wanted him away for a few minutes while they tried to figure out what had crawled up her ass this time. Renji just smiled and took the money, pressing a kiss to Byakuya’s cheek before pressing one to the top of Ichigo’s head, leaving the area and looking for the dango stand that they had passed by.

 

“So, Rukia-chan, care to tell me why you’re bugging my guardian?” Ichigo asked sweetly, voice dripping with innocence. Ulquiorra could feel his hackles rise as he moved to stand near Ichigo, not really wanting to be in her line of sight if she really let loose with her tongue. It wasn’t often that she did, even as her normal gender, much preferring to use her body to convey her displeasure. But when she let loose with her words it was a thing of beauty.

 

He had seen her let loose only once before, while she had been staying in Los Noches, and discovered that when she used her mind and her words, she was much more deadly than when she used her zanpakuto.

 

And he learned that a person didn’t want to be in her line of sight when she started.

 

“We all know that he’s not supposed to be here. Hell, he’s not even supposed to be in Soul Society at all. He’s an Arrancar! The enemy!” Rukia hissed, glaring at the younger female. Ichigo just cocked an eyebrow and looked over at Ulquiorra with a curious expression on her face.

 

“Hey, Ulquiorra, are you going to destroy anybody?” she asked, smiling sweetly at the Espada who raised an non-existent eyebrow at her.

 

“I don’t believe that I will be. Is there anyone here that would wish to harm you?” he asked in return.

 

 

Ichigo took a thinking pose, one hand on her hip while a finger on her other hand tapped at her bottom lip as she thought. “Nope, I don’t think so. There _is_ someone who doesn’t want me to have any fun so she ignores the invites sent to me through her, but not someone who wants to hurt me,” she mused, her eyes turning to Rukia. Rukia blanched under the look, her eyes going wide as she fidgeted. “I’m actually lucky that Yoruichi-chan came around last week to ask if I was going to the festival. Otherwise I would never have been on such a wonderful date with Byakuya-san so far,” she continued. Her smile was soft and caring as she gazed up at the taicho next to her.

 

“It is a pleasure to have you as my companion,” Byakuya said softly, bringing one of her hands up to his lips, kissing the back of it. “As for you, Rukia, you have quite a bit to answer for. I haven not had had the time to speak with you about your attitude towards Ichigo-san in the last few weeks. Much less what you did after you returned to the Seireitei. We will speak later tonight. Do not think that hiding will get you out of it either.”

 

“Yes, Byakuya-san,” Rukia said, her voice high and squeaky with her stress. She knew that she had just become screwed over, especially if he knew everything that she had done. She had no doubt at all that he knew everything, he always found out everything. And if he didn’t know it, he would soon enough. No one in the Kuchiki clan had better connections than her older brother after all. She knew she was about to be watched with a magnifying glass, making any of her plans that much harder to get done.

 

Harder but not impossible.

 

“And you will also leave Ulquiorra-san alone. He has done nothing to you since he arrived in Seireitei, especially since I doubt that he wishes to upset Ichigo-san. You will not antagonize him and otherwise ignore him, otherwise I will force you to go back home and deny you the right to do anything but work,” Byakuya warned her, his voice cold, making Rukia flinch and nod.

 

“Oh, that reminds me. I need to find and talk with Hanataro about the dates that I ended up missing because of the misinformation,” Ichigo said. She looked around and spotted a dark head that was moving through the crowds alongside Renji, who was carrying their dango bowls in hand. “Looks like Renji has our lunch, and Hanataro with him,” she told Byakuya, tugging on his sleeve slightly, wanting to leave the glaring Rukia behind. Kira sniffed and threaded his arm through Ulquiorra’s, drawing him away from the pissed off Kuchiki.

 

“I said something about buying you some of the various snacks before we were interrupted, Ulquiorra-san. How about we go to another area to buy our food?” Kira suggested, drawing the unresisting Espada off. They left Byakuya and Ichigo to greet Renji and Hanatarou as Rukia stalked off with a snarl.

 

Ichigo caught a few of her muttered threats that were aimed at them, making a note to tell Byakuya later on. After their day of fun was done since she really didn’t want their day to be ruined by the woman.

 

“So, as requested, I got you some _chichi_ and _mitarashi_ dango, since you’re still on your sweet kick, Ichigo. I picked up a few skewers of _anko_ dango for myself and for Byakuya-san, I got you some _denpun_ and _kuri_ dango,” Renji said, smiling as he handed over the bowls that held their dango.

 

“Oh, thank you, Renji. It looks good. And smells delicious,” Ichigo chirped as she took her split bowl, Byakuya taking his own. Hanatarou smiled at them. “Hanatarou-san, I wanted to talk with you, clear something up with you actually. I discovered that Rukia was telling lies to everyone who were waiting for responses to my invitations. Especially since I never actually got any of them,” she said, reaching out her free hand to lay it on his arm.

 

“I have always wondered why you would say no to every single invitation that was extended to you,” Hanataro mused, frowning before he shook his head with a glare in the direction that Rukia had stalked off to. “I’m actually surprised that we didn’t ever figure out what was going on with her and what she was doing at the time. Much less that.” Ichigo nodded with a sheepish smile, shrugging a shoulder.

 

“Yeah, well, I’m not really thinking about her at the moment. I just have to find out exactly how many invitations was sent to me and who sent them so that I can tell them what happened,” Ichigo said. She picked up one of the skewers and gently bit into the side of one of the round balls. Byakuya made a thoughtful noise as he followed her example, Renji panting next to them, having taken a large bite.

 

“What she has done will get around the ranks rather fast since Kira was here. Somehow he has a gossip chain that rivals the Kuchiki contact list,” Renji said after he finally chewed and swallowed his bite. He licked at his lips.

 

“Well then, that’ll just make my job that much easier,” Ichigo snorted, smirking at her friend. “Remember, Renji-kun, smaller bites. Then you won’t burn your tongue.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. You sound like Byakuya-san I’ll have you know,” Renji huffed, pouting at the young female, getting a smirk and raised eyebrow.

  
  


 

 


	22. A Shifting of Live 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Shifting of Life  
> Fandom: Bleach  
> Part: 21  
> Series: A Shifting World  
> Characters/Pairings: Ichigo, Byakuya, Renji, Rukia, Ulquiorra, Hanataro, Kira  
> Warnings: Verbal smackdown/sparring  
> Word count: 1,471  
> AN: You know what? I have just realized how much my sentence structure sucks if I don't take the time to rewrite in some places. Not to mention the missing apostrophes. Seriously. 
> 
> But all of this rewriting is making the story smoother, easier to read (I Hope!) and look so much better, so it's all worth it in the end.
> 
> Still going to be a while before I post the sequel to this and my Naruto/Ibiki story, Finding a Bit of Trust. I'm only like 2 chapters (maybe) into A Shifting of Perspective, and only like 2 chapters (I think) into Finding a Bit of Happiness. So much to write. 
> 
> So little time. But don't worry, I have a LOT of other stories to fill in that gap. Let's see what I get done first yes?
> 
> For now, enjoy this repost!
> 
> *~*~*~*

After they had eaten their snacks, the two men and their companion moved on to start to play the games around the festival, Ichigo adding another stuffed animal to her ever growing collection. They soon found the rest of their group easily, Kira and Ulquiorra apparently being the only ones to be hiding away from the rest of the group. Mom snorted and said that they had been making goo-goo eyes at each other for the last hour or so.

 

“Goo-goo eyes? Really? Ulquiorra does not make ‘goo-goo eyes’. He leers at you without even trying,” Ichigo snorted as she settled onto the blanket that Baykuya had laid out for them. Byakuya raised an eyebrow at her, a blush spreading over her cheeks as he and Renji sat on either side of her. “What? You both know that it’s true. Don’t think that I didn’t see him looking over Kira like he was his next five course meal plus dessert,” she snorted. “I’m not that blind.”

 

“So we have been learning,” Byakuya hummed as he shook his head with a smile on his lips. “Do you think that they will make it in time for the fireworks?” he asked as a Kuchiki servant placed several baskets near them before leaving for the rest of the night.

 

“I do think so. Ulquiorra is hardly the type to do anything outside of a bedroom if he does do anything at all,” Ichigo said. “At least when there’s so many people running around. He and Kira are either making out as a prequel to what they’re going to do later, or they just haven’t arrived yet.”

 

“We had arrived but Kira-san was kind enough to show me where I could buy something that is non-alcoholic for you since the bottles that held your drink were somehow destroyed,” Ulquiorra stated.

 

Ichigo looked at him and a slightly mussed Kira walked up to them, raising an eyebrow before he looked over to where Kira pointed. He found another Kuchiki servant shaking out a blanket, a dark spot showing where the bottles had been resting and broken against.

 

“Well now, that’s not good,” Ichigo said, frowning as she leant into Byakuya’s warmth, a slight breeze playing around them. The nobel frowned as he pulled a larger blanket out of one of the baskets as Ulquiorra found their own seats, their friends scattering about them with their own picnic baskets and stall bought dinners. Wrapping the blanket around the smaller red head, the group settled in, chatting and enjoying their free time as they pulled out plates of finger foods, passing them back and forth.

 

Byakuya, Renji, Ulquiorra, and Kira all shared bottles of sake, Ichigo taking over serving after Renji showed himself incompetent, in her words, to do so. Ichigo on the other hand settled in to drink warmed apple cider. Occasionally though, she would turn to stare at Rukia or Momo, think that she had seen something before she brushed it off. It wasn’t exactly her business what they got up to after all, despite the fact that she was still unhappy with how Rukia had acted towards Ulquiorra.

 

Or with how Momo was acting in regards to Aizen.

 

“I wonder if Aizen didn’t leave mostly because of Momo, no matter what he said,” she suddenly said, turning to the other four who were giving her surprised looks. “Look, we all know that she’s psycho about him. Actually, she’s obsessed with him to the point of danger and it’s kind of worrying me just thinking about what she would do to get him back to the Seireitei. Or even get to him in Los Noches.”

 

“No need to worry, Ichigo-chan. We have her a very tight watch at the moment and she’s got a kido on her that she can’t get around right now,” Renji said, shrugging as he eyed the two women. They sent glares at them. “Okay, so maybe there should be some worry. Byakuya-san, do you think we should tell Unohana-sou-taicho about her current behavior?”

 

“The taichos are having a meeting to discuss her and tomorrow afternoon, remember?” Byakuya reminded his lover, reaching up to smooth a bit of Ichigo’s hair down. He was surprised at the fact that it had gotten so much longer in the weeks that she had returned from Hueco Mundo, making it brush her neck in an appealing way.

 

“Oh yeah. Hey, what about Rukia’s behavior? Will you be bringing her up or will you keep it as clan business?” Renji asked. He turned and smiled, watching as Byakuya gently played with a bit of his date’s hair, Ichigo allowing him to do so with a smile on her lips.

 

Ulquiorra hummed softly and kept a close eye on the two for a few moments before he turned back to Kira, smiling as the lovely blond blushed lightly under his gaze.

 

“I will be having a discussion about her actions with the sou-taicho during the meeting and I will be discussing it with the elders of our clan later in the day,” Byakuya stated. He frowned slightly as he turned to look at his sister. She quickly looked away from him, playing with what looked to be a sake bottle and a small plate of sushi. “She will be learning the hard way that one does not conduct oneself in such a way, especially when it comes to an ally or a friend. It is not how the Kuchiki’s work,” he continued, turning back to Renji and Ichigo.

  
Ichigo looked up at him and smiled slightly. “It sounds like she’s in a shit load of trouble. I know though that I’m not going to be able to forgive her so easily. Will you be too upset with me if I don’t really talk with her and tend to ignore her very presence for a while?” Ichigo asked him, the two men curious as to why she would do such a thing.

 

“Why would you want to ignore her?” Renji asked her. Ichigo shifted slightly and looked up at him, frowning as her eyebrows drew together, a look that everyone was well acquainted with, having seen it often when she had still been a he.

 

“It’s because I’m rather liable to attack her in some way. Either I’ll do it with my words or with my zanpakuto. What she did to me and said to Ulquiorra was really fucked up. I mean, not giving me my invitations and letters? That’s just mean,” she snorted, shaking her head before downing the last of her drink. She put the cup to the side and stood up with a moan. “If you’ll excuse me though, I’ll be right back.” She turned on the balls of one foot and headed for the bathrooms.

 

She needed to get away for a moment from the glares that she could feel coming from Rukia and to use the bathroom. She blushed at feeling the heated stares that came from Byakuya and Renji, sending shivers up and down her back before heat curled low in her gut.

 

Once she had calmed down in the bathroom, she came back out and took a seat just in time to watch as Ulquiorra finally made a move, kissing a happily willing Kira heatedly. The soft sounds of the kiss was enough to once more make Ichigo blush, hiding her face in her hands as the two pulled apart after several long moments. Kira cleared his throat as he caught sight of Ichigo, the young woman turning to hide her face in Renji’s chest, seeing as he was the one who was closest to her.

 

“Sorry about that, but that was so worth it,” Kira said, his voice husky. Ulquiorra just laughed lowly and pressed a kiss to his cheek as the fireworks started to fill the sky. Peeking, Ichigo gasped and looked up as the colors created beautiful designs against the darkened sky. Byakuya and Renji altered between watching the fireworks display and turning to watch the amazed Ichigo and all of her expressions.

 

One of the fireworks display, that of a winding dragon, made Ichigo sigh wistfully at the sight of it, remembering the first time she had seen such a firework. It brought up memories of the days just before her mother’s death, when she had been a he, and so very young. It was one of her clearest and fondest memories that she would always carry.

 

The warm arms that wrapped around her waist and pulled her back to rest against the strong chest just added to the happiness of the moment. She smiled and wiggled slightly so she could rest fully in Byakuya’s arms, hearing him chuckle softly.

 

She felt warm and safe.

  
  


 

 


	23. A Shifting of Life 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Shifting of Life  
> Fandom: Bleach  
> Part: 22  
> Series: A Shifting World  
> Characters/Pairings: Ichigo, Byakuya,  
> Warnings: Kissykissy  
> Word count: 1,739  
> AN: Why yes, I am going through these chapters at a rather nice pace even though I had to stop for April and the last few weeks have been INSANE. *rolls eyes*
> 
> For now, Enjoy!
> 
> *~*~*~*

 

Yawning as he leant against Byakuya’s shoulder, Ichigo hummed contently as they strolled through the festivals, the stalls starting to close down for the night around them. After they had dinner, they had continued to wander about the stalls, Ichigo winning a young koi fish. He had given it to a messenger to have it added to the Kuchiki estate koi pond to live there.

 

Byakuya and Renji had won even more stuffed animals along with a few other things. In fact, they had won so much, including blankets and shawls, that she had decided to donate the rest to various orphanages that needed things while only keeping a few of the bigger things for herself and her sisters.

 

Seeing what she was doing, Byakuya and Renji had bought out a stall that sold blankets, deciding that some of the blankets would go to families who needed them and some of the street children. Ichigo’s beaming smile had been worth the small fortune they had spent on the well made blankets. Renji was even thinking about starting a donation round to help rebuild some of the older orphanages while building more to relieve the stress on them.

 

Ichigo had been right, as they had found out, when she had told them that the Soul Society was out of balance.

 

As soon as they climbed into the carriage, they headed to the 6th Division so Renji could stay in the fukutaicho’s room for the night, needing to do some things early the next morning. Dropping a yawning Renji off, Byakuya and Ichigo headed to Rangiku’s home, knowing that Ulquiorra hd gone home with Kira while Rangiku was escorting a very drunk Momo home. She would more than likely end up staying with Momo to make sure that she didn’t choke on her own vomit in the night.

 

Ichigo though was worn out from the long yet fun night, her dark haired companion smiling and holding her close, his arm wrapped around her slim waist. He was rather enjoying the subtle scent of vanilla and bubblegum that seemed to hang around her. He figured that it was most likely her shampoo and body lotion, his nose buried in her soft hair.

 

“What kind of lotion do you use on your skin?” Byakuya asked her suddenly, already planning on getting her some more. Ichigo shifted slightly, her hand shifting on the thigh that it had been resting on.

 

“It’s from Yuzu. She sent me some vanilla scented body butter. I used body butter even as a guy but I didn’t buy scented. It helps any forming scars to relax and pale enough that they’re really not that noticeable,” Ichigo admitted. She blinked up at him a few times before she went back to relaxing against Byakuya who made a thoughtful sound.

 

“I’ve always wondered why it is that you have so few scars that are noticeable,” Byakuya said, feeling Ichigo chuckle against his shoulder.

 

“That would be because of fast healing, Orihime, and my body butter for the most part. I have some that you can’t see, but you can feel them,” Ichigo said, sitting up much to Byakuya’s disappointment. “One is from Senbonzakura, when we fought that first time. A couple of those mini blades got me but good,” she admitted, one hand coming up to brushing her fingers over a spot on her shoulder that was barely covered by her kimono top.

 

Looking at her, Byakuya slowly lifted one of his hands, pausing as his fingers rested on the cloth in question. Ichigo blushed slightly before she pushed her kimono to the side, a bit of dark gold bra lovingly cupping a pert breast appearing with the shoulder. Keeping his eyes off of the hint of breast with some difficulty, Byakuya brushed his fingers over the skin that looked the same but there was a slight difference that he could feel.

 

A long, very thin, nearly invisible scar rested parallel with Ichigo’s collarbone.

 

“I am deeply sorry that I allowed my need to conform to my clans rigid rules and my own blindness to lead me into attacking you,” Byakuya said softly. He gently moved Ichigo’s kimono back into place as they pulled up to the house finally.

 

“It wasn’t really your fault, Byakuya. You had your job and I had my own goals to fulfill, and they just happened to clash,” Ichigo soothed as the driver opened the carriage door and set the stairs down. Byakuya stepped down from the carriage and turned to help his date down before he helped her to gather the few things she had kept. Ichigo lead the way into the house, the large bear in her arms, opening the door and heading for her bedroom, Byakuya following after.

 

Once they had put the stuffed animals and the three blankets Ichigo had kept, they moved into the kitchen, Byakuya standing near the counter as he watched as Ichigo started the tea kettle to heat water for tea.

 

“Can you tell me what you’re planning on doing with Rukia?” Ichigo asked, glad that they were alone and that Byakuya had agreed to talk with her about this. She wanted to know what the man was planning with his sister now that what she had been doing had come out.

 

“I’m not sure as of yet,” Byakuya admitted to her, watching the bow on Ichigo’s back twitch as she moved around in the kitchen, pulling out cups and the sugar dish. “I have to speak with everyone to find which invitations it was that you never got.”

 

“I actually never got a damn thing unless it was given to me directly from Urahara or Yoruichi, or had to do with a meeting that I needed to attend. I was usually told about those via the butterflies though,” Ichigo stated as she placed the cups onto the counter, dropping tea bags into them.

 

“So there are quite a few invitations that you never got,” Byakuya mused, Ichigo nodding.

 

She picked the whistling tea kettle up and poured the hot water over the tea bags as she thoughtfully frowned. “Yeah, more than likely. I really have no idea how it came down to this. When I first met her, she was rather nice to me outside of her violent tendencies. But now?” Ichigo sighed as she played with the tea bag string. Byakuya walked over and idly pulled his tea bag from the now dark liquid, dropping it onto a dish that had tea stains on it, adding a bit of sugar to his tea while he observed his companion.

 

Unohana had already warned them that Ichigo would be much more vulnerable after her hormonal changes but to really see it in the soft way of a female Ichigo was more than expected. It was odd, not bad but odd. But still, Byakuya couldn’t help but feel so proud of how well the young woman before him was holding up. After a few times where she had holed up for a day or had trained on her own, she had become softer. She smiled more, still spoke her mind and scowled randomly, but it was as if she felt that she could finally be herself without anyone freaking out about it.

 

Rukia had once told him when she had been drunk and sentimental that the three siblings had changed quite a bit after they had lost their mother. Yuzu had become more of a homemaker and sensitive, while Karin had ended up being the stronger twin of the two of them. Ichigo though had changed the most. He had taken on the mantle and face of a protector.

 

He was strong, even through everything what he had experienced, always willing to protect the smaller man, always ready to be ready to fight for what needed to be fought for.

 

But now, standing before him as a young woman, Ichigo was sweeter, softer. Gentler, but oh so much stronger than before. She had grown up and no one had really noticed this fact until she had been turned into a woman by the pink haired Arrancar.

 

“But now?” he prompted as he watched her pull her own tea bag out of her cup, squeezing it against a spoon before she added sugar to her tea.

 

“But now, it’s like she doesn’t really want me to have any friends. I’m lucky that I have some kind of time to be with my family, but even then she’s been trying to steal away that time now that I think about it,” she said, a frown flitting over her lips before she shook her head.

 

“I suppose that I should speak with my sister at length,” Byakuya promised as he set his teacup down onto the counter, have drank nearly half of the cup without realizing it.

 

“Will you tell me how it goes?” Ichigo asked, tilting her head towards him, the older Shinigami nodding his head.

 

“I will do so,” he promised. Moving to stand before her, he tilted her head up with his fingers under her chin, stroking them over her jaw line to cup the back of her head. He watched as she blushed as he lowered his head to brush their lips together. Ichigo pressed her hands on Byakuya’s chest, not pushing him away, his arm wrapping around her waist to draw her close to his own.

 

Byakuya pulled back just slightly before pressing their lips firmly together, sliding his tongue over her plush lips, feeling them part under his tongue. Sighing lowly, Ichigo greeted his tongue with her own, the two falling into a slow kiss, tasting and teasing each other. Finally they pulled apart,  Byakuya feeling smug about the whimper of protest that escaped from the well kissed Ichigo.

 

“Have a good night, Ichigo,” Byakuya rumbled, glazed brown eyes opening slowly as she nodded. Making sure that she could stand on her own, the noble left quickly, not wanting to pounce her just yet, knowing that Ulquiorra would be best at drawing her into the world of sex.

 

Left in the kitchen, Ichigo slowly blew out a deep breath as she took stock of her body. “Well then, at least I know what they mean about creaming your panties from a kiss now,” she husked to the empty room. “Damn.”

  
  


 

 


	24. A Shifting of Life 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Shifting of Life  
> Fandom: Bleach  
> Part: 23  
> Series: A Shifting World  
> Characters/Pairings: Ulquiorra/Kira  
> Warnings: Full on smut  
> Word count: 1,739  
> AN: Oooh yes, we have smutty smut with these two! I'm sure you all remember this. Well it's better. At least it doesn't read hard but instead smooth.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> *~*~*~*

Smirking to his companion as they landed lightly before the fukutaicho’s rooms for the Third Division, Ulquiorra watched as Kira opened the door, allowing them in. Pulling off their footwear, he chuckled when Kira pulled him into a kiss, his tongue easily slipping into a honeyed mouth. Pale hands slid down a strong, lean back to grip the curvaceous ass, pulling a squeak from swelling lips as he continued to taste and ravish the sweet mouth under his own.

 

Pulling away from Kira’s lips, Ulquiorra smirked at the wide blue eyes that gazed at him from over bruised lips and flushed cheeks. Brushing his fingers over the other male’s bottom lip, he felt his lust curl tight and head his blood. Reaching down, he grabbed Kira’s ass again and hauled him up into his arms, long legs wrapping around his waist.

 

“Where is your bedroom at?” he growled. Kira shivered and pointed a door that stood on the opposite wall of the combination living room and kitchen. Smirking, Ulquiorra walked to them, the blond growling and nipping at his neck as his hands tugged and searched for pale skin, finding it under layers of kimono and stroking over it.

  
Pushing the sliding door to the bedroom open, he walked in and headed for the futon, dropping his partner onto it, getting a squawk. Smirking even more. Ulquiorra started to loosen his kimono, tugging off the layers and dropping them onto a small side table, leaving him in his fundoshi. Kira watched every move with dark eyes as he worked off his own kimono.

 

Reaching out to his partner, Kira smoothed his hands up the pale chest before him, tweaking dusky nipples and getting a growl from Ulquiorra. The standing male tangled his fingers into blond hair and tugged on it as he bent over slightly to kiss his partner. Their tongues slid and tasted as they fell back onto the bed, Ulquiorra over Kira, their fingers sliding over skin, teasing and feeling.

 

Kira pulled away from the kiss with a gasp, Ulquiorra gazing down at him with a smug look as he stroked the length that he had uncovered, Kira’s fundoshi laying on the floor. “That’s not fair,” he groaned as he pushed up into the hand.

 

“Well I’m not supposed to be playing fair,” Ulquiorra drawled as he swiped his thumb over the tip of Kira’s cock.

 

“No you’re not. But then again, neither am I,” he panted, moving to flip them over, grabbing a strip of cloth that was sitting on the middle of his futon and wrapping Ulquiorra’s wrists to the headboard. “Now, stay put,” Kira purred as he rolled his hips against his lover’s. Ulquiorra growled as he rocked his hips upwards into the teasing males, feeling his length slide teasingly over the other’s entrance.

 

Leaning forward, Kira nipped at his throat, drawing up red marks as he smirked at the low rumble. Working his way down Ulquiorra’s chest, he shivered at the soft rumbles and growls that escaped from his lover, finally dipping his tongue into the slight indent of a belly button, looking up at him.

 

Ulquiorra’s back bowed upwards, trying to press into the mouth as a nip to the sensitive skin of his stomach followed the dip of the teasing tongue. Kira chuckled lowly as he shuddered, darkened green eyes watching him closely, anticipating their next move. Smirking, Kira continued to tease and taste his lover’s body, Ulquiorra twitching and rolling into each touch of the other’s hands and lips, trying to get him to do more. Growls and low moans escaped him as he was teased into full hardness.

 

Kira chuckled again and finally licked a stripe up the long cock before him, unsurprised when the Espada’s hips bucked upwards, cock twitching happily as pre-come beaded at the tip which were licked up. “Yummy,” he purred, his eyes lust filled as Ulquiorra finally worked his wrists free of his bindings and reached down to pull him up into a heated kiss.

 

“You are a tease,” Ulquiorra growled, running a hand over the curve of Kira’s ass, his fingers just dipping down between the crack and over the hole there. Kira shivered before he sat up on his knees, rubbing his ass over the hard length of his lover.

 

“Yet you haven’t eve let me taste, you mean Espada you,” Kira pouted teasingly as he smirked.

 

“Oh, I’m so very sorry,” Ulquiorra teased, rolling his hips before he tugged on Kira’s hips. “Bring your hips up here. If you want to tease me that much, I suppose that I can allow you to, but I still wish to taste you myself.”

 

“Well, I can deal with that,” Kira groaned before he moved so that his hips were over Ulquiorra’s head, his face turned to the thick cock that he wanted. Leaning forward, he gently took the other into his mouth, sucking as he hummed when a wet mouth slid over him in return.

 

Using his hands to guide the lean male to lower his hips towards his face, Ulquiorra growled and let his fingers move to slid over the twitching entrance. Feeling a jar land next to his head, he growled softly when Kira pulled his mouth off of him.

 

“It’s oil,” Kira stated before he went back to sucking on Ulquiorra, his mouth sliding lower, taking him into his mouth deeper.

 

Groaning at the feeling, Ulquiorra picked up the jar and opened it, finding a very thick, slick oil within it, using it to coat his fingers. Putting the lid back on and setting the jar aside, he returned to teasing his tongue over the hard length, fingers finding the twitching hole. Stroking over it as they continued to suck and lick over each other, Ulquiorra slid his finger into Kira, feeling the man vibrate down his own cock.

 

Pulling off, he nipped at one side of the lean hips as he moved his finger, working the tight muscle into loosening. He was able to slide a second finger in as Kira whimpered and moaned around Ulquiorra’s length, still suckling hard and fast. Laughing lowly, he spread the fingers apart as his thumb played over the stretched ring, adding even more sensation. He found himself able to slide a third finger into the stretching hole, his hips jerking as Kira swallowed around his prick.

 

“Such a sweet boy,” he groaned, Kira’s toes curling as he whimpered around the length in his mouth. “Come up here,” Ulquiorra hissed, reaching down to pull Kira’s mouth off of his aching length. He got him to shift around, quickly flipping him onto his back and smirking down at him. He ran a thumb over friction and kiss swollen lips, taking the dark blue eyes that watched his avidly. Smirking, he drew strong arms upwards and tied them with the same length of fabric that had held him earlier.

 

Watching Kira tug at the bonds, he sat up onto his knees, reaching down and grabbing his obi and held it up, cocking an eyebrow in a silent question. He smiled and wrapped it around Kira’s head, covering his eyes, when he got a nod, getting a groan of pleasure.

 

“Just stay relaxed,” he purred into Kira’s ear, watching as his breath hitched. Smirking he used the oil to slick his fingers again and brought them back to the slicked, stretched hole. Stroking over the ring, he pressed his fingers inwards, watching how his lover’s body bowed upwards as a moan escaped him. Sliding his fingers in and out, he watched as Kira started to make soft whimpering noises, rolling his hips in time with the movements of his fingers.

 

“Please, Ulquiorra-san, I need…” Kira whimpered, biting his bottom lip as the muscles of his entrance twitched around the fingers in him. Pulling them out, Ulquiorra slicked his cock and pressed against the ring of muscle, just resting it there before he slid deeply into the arching body.

 

“Damn,” Ulquiorra groaned, his green eyes glued to the body that had arched as he pressed forward. The muscles around his length twitched and tightened, no doubt feeling some burn from the entrance, before relaxing, Kira’s hips rolling into his own as his legs wrapped around his waist, tugging him closer.

 

“Would you move?” the blindfolded man got out. Ulquiorra smirked down at him and slowly pulled out before thrusting in hard. The strangled moan and full body shudder spurred him on to start moving harder and faster, the sound of skin slapping against skin filling the air around them.

 

Kira was quickly reduced to whimpering and moaning as he tugged at his bindings, hand curled around the ties, Ulquiorra gripping his hips tightly enough to bruise the pale skin. Running one hand up the lean thigh to a knee, he drew the leg from around his waist and pushed it outwards as he pushed the other leg up to Kira’s chest. He continued to move the entire time, driving and out of the grasping body. Reaching down once he had made sure that Kira’s legs would stay, he curled his hand around his partner’s length and started to stroke it in time with his movements.

 

The screech of pleasure that Kira let out as he came, shuddering and tightening around Ulquiorra, made the Espada jerk and slam hard into the willing body. He came just after his lover as the muscles around him fluttered and squeezed him just right. Panting, eyes half lidded and filled with smugness, he slowly pulled out of the twitching body, reaching up with his dry hand to pull off the blindfold, finding that the blue eyes were closed, fluttering slightly.

 

Laughing softly at his lover’s reaction, Ulquiorra removed the bonds from around Kira’s wrists, massaging them and his arms before he laid down, Kira moving to sprawl over him.

 

“Well, fuck,” Kira moaned after a few minutes of coming down off of his high.

 

Ulquiorra laughed again and smoothed a hand down over his side and hip, stroking the curve there. “Indeed,” he said, his eyes still half lidded.

 

“So, tell me, what are you going to do about Ichigo?” Kira asked after a few more minutes, getting a look from Ulquiorra. “You want Ichigo, don’t deny it. We all wanted him as a guy and now that he’s a she…” he trailed off, smirking up at him. “Now, I’m betting that you’ve never been with a virgin. I can tell you a few things about what to do with her and how her first time should go, should you get to do that.”

  
  


 

 


	25. A Shifting of Life 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Shifting of Life  
> Fandom: Bleach  
> Part: 24  
> Series: A Shifting World  
> Characters/Pairings: Ichigo, Isshin  
> Warnings: Talks of culture  
> Word count: 1,679  
> AN: So a little while since I've reposted chapter 23. I would go into everything but seriously? Life got busy and I had to finish “Our Truth” on top of that. So here is the next 3 chapters. Enjoy.
> 
> *~*~*~*

It was a few days after the festival and Ichigo was reading, Ulquiorra reading a letter from Aizen at Rangiku’s home. Ichigo looked up as the door opened up, smiling brightly at seeing her father standing there in the door with a soft smile for her.

 

“Hey there,” Ichigo breathed, bouncing up and off of the couch that she had been sitting on, hugging the other man tightly, getting a low chuckle as Ulquiorra left the room with a nod to Isshin.

 

“Hey yourself,” Isshin laughed as he hugged her close, feeling the way she trembled before she relaxed into his arms. “Are you okay? I mean, really, really okay?” he asked her, stroking soft locks. He frowned when Ichigo shook her head against his shoulder.

 

“No, not really. I’m so fucking confused, dad, and it’s really not helping that I actually went through what all women do every fucking month,” Ichigo whimpered, her eyes closed as she clung to him.

 

“Oh, my dear,” Isshin sighed as he over to sit on the couch, pulling her close to hold her as she curled up against him. “If you want me to, I can get you a three month pill pack until Kisuke is able to turn you back into a male.”

 

“No, I’m good now. Unohana gave me a better shot to stop it mostly,” she promised. “Urahara also told me yesterday that he’s close to figuring out the complete breakdown of whatever Szayel used on me, but that he ran into some troubles. The creepy clown is doing something in recreating the Hogyoku,” she said, pulling away enough to look up at her father.

 

“Kisuke told me that Unohana-san is now getting involved with it. She’s rather upset with things, especially with what Urahara-kun had been forced to go through with the first one.” Ichigo hummed and closed her eyes as Isshin once more stroked over her head.

 

“How is everything else going for you though?” Isshin asked, getting a low moan from his son turned daughter as she shook her head.

 

“Rukia has gone absolutely psycho on me, and I don’t know why,” Ichigo sighed. Isshin raised an eyebrow, silently asking her what she meant. “We discovered that she’s been lying to anyone about my so called responses to invitations while not even telling me about any of them. I was _really_ lucky that Yoruichi told me about the festival and Byakuya’s invitation to it,” she said, shoving a hand through her hair.

 

“Why would she want to do that?” Isshin asked her, his eyes widening as he gazed down at his child. “I thought that she cared for you just as much as you cared for her.”

 

“So did I actually,” Ichigo sighed. She closed her eyes and shook her head with a scowl. “I don’t know actually. She just showed such a dark side here. I just really…” Sitting back into the couch, she crossed her ankles and gazed down at her feet as Isshin watched her think.

 

“I’m guessing that the information has come out right?” he asked, getting a nod. “How was it taken by everyone?”

 

“From what I’ve been able to see and learn? They range from upset, like Hanataro-kun, to outright pissed off, like Renji-kun and Byakuya-kun. Me? I’m just really hurt and on the pissed off side with her,” Ichigo hummed as he ran a hand through her hair once more. “I don’t even have the urge to see her, much less talk to her,” she said, giving her father a look when he started to play with her hair again. “And would you please stop fussing with my hair?”

 

“I can’t help it. It’s almost as if the fact that you turned into a girl has finally tamed your hair, drawing your mother’s genes out even more,” Issin teased. He chuckled when she pouted and glared at him.

 

“Fuss over Yuzu’s hair. Her’s is more like mom’s than mine,” Ichigo huffed at him, batting his hands away before she smoothed her hair down on her own.

 

“Aww, but she’s not here for me to fuss,” Isshin cooed, smirking at the growl.

 

“You’re such a jerk,” Ichigo huffed as she pouted at him, standing up to head for the kitchen, her skirt swishing around her feet.

 

“I can tell you that I’m actually surprised that you’re wearing a skirt,” Isshin said, following after her with a curious expression as he eyed her outfit. She had decided to wear a simple, floor length skirt with a matching tank top, the entire outfit a baby blue color. The bra straps that peeked out from under the tank top straps were lacy and a darker blue color. Ichigo’s cheeks pinked as she pulled out the kettle to make tea for the two of them.

 

“Ulquiorra was nice enough to take me to a rather nice restaurant that Kira suggested. We went for breakfast,” she admitted, Isshin smiling brightly at her.

 

“So you two went out on a date, huh? Who would have thought that he would go from a guardian to a potential lover with a sex change huh?” he cackled, Ichigo rolling her eyes.

 

“Actually, he wanted to make a move on me while I was in Los Noches under Aizen’s care, but since no one knew that I’m pan with a leaning towards males as a guy, he didn’t,” Ichigo admitted. “And yes, I said pansexual. I’ve had time to think about it and I found that I am attracted to women. Just very particular as a male.” She pulled down a wooden tea box. “But the thing is, Rukia helped spread that I was straight and willing to go for anyone. Combine that with what Orihime spread?”

 

“I’m actually still surprised that Orihime was the one who spread that you were straight around. But I am still glad that Ulquiorra-san was kind enough to wait for you until he was sure about your sexuality,” Isshin hummed. He watched as Ichigo moved around, making their tea. He could still see that the beautiful young woman was still his son, no matter what her gender. Her movements were still as sure as they ever were, not wasting movements, but they had become even more graceful.

 

It seemed as if Ichigo had gotten used to her new body rather quickly. Then again, she was also very adaptable, having to do so many times in her life.

 

“Yeah, so am I,” Ichigo finally said, putting a tea cup down in front of him. “I can see your thoughts going on in your head. What’s going on in your mind?” she asked.

 

“Has anyone really sat down with you to talk about how the Seireitei works?” Isshin asked her. Ichigo see-sawed her hand back and forth. “Kind of huh? What _have_ they told you so far?”

 

“That they’re very open about sex, sexual partners, and relationships,” Ichigo summarized, stirring a bit of honey into her tea.

 

“There is that. Let me tell you about lovers and spouses since I’m thinking that they didn’t go into great detail,” Isshin said, watching as Ichigo pulled herself up onto the counter, crossing her legs and smoothing her skirt down. “As you know, Shinigami really don’t limit themselves when it comes to sexual partners outside of having types or preferences. We can die at anytime and we work so hard that we really don’t want to limit ourselves to just one gender. And sometimes just one lover.”

 

“It almost sounds as if Shinigami have three types of partners, kind of like their living counterparts,” Ichigo said, her eyes wide.

  
“We do. We have the usual ‘friends with benefits’, otherwise known as playmates, lovers, and of course spouses. It’s been this way since I joined the ranks,” Isshin chuckled.

 

Ichigo raised an eyebrow before smirking over her tea cup. “You’re just so old,” she drawled, laughing at the affronted sound that came from her father.

 

“And you’re a brat,” Isshin huffed, smiling softly and shaking his head, continuing. “Now, it is rare that someone will call another their lover because of the same reason why we’re rarely purely straight and purely gay. Our life span is so long that should we break up and hurt each other, we end up with a grudge, and even if we don’t have a grudge it takes time to relax from that time.”

 

“I’m taking it that it’s the same way with marriages right?” Ichigo asked him, thinking of her mother. Isshin nodded as he smiled lightly at his child, seeing the sadness. “So, why did you marry mom?”

 

“I was drawn to her in a way that no one but Kisuke has ever drawn me,” Isshin admitted to her, Ichigo looking up with surprise in her brown eyes. “And by the time that I had met her, Kisuke had been long gone and I wasn’t able to contact him whenever I wanted. I fell in love with her, used a gigai that I was able to hide me. It was actually something that had been a gift from Kisuke before he disappeared with the Vizards, and I left to marry her. I never once regretted my decision,” he told her, the two sharing a smile between them.

 

“I’m glad that you met and married mom, but, dad,” Ichigo said, trailing off before he smirked at him, watching him give her a wary look.

 

“Yes?” Isshin asked, drawing the word out.

 

“I think that you really need to get laid. Do me a favor and swing by Urahara’s to make him limp, would ya?” she asked as she slid off of the counter, her father watching as he gaped at her. “Do close your mouth before you have a fly land in it.”

 

“My dear child, you make me feel so much pride,” Isshin said, a bark of laughter escaping him.

 

 


	26. A Shifting of Life 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Shifting of Life  
> Fandom: Bleach  
> Part: 25  
> Series: A Shifting World  
> Characters/Pairings: Ulquiorra/Ichigo  
> Warnings: Sex, lots and lots of sex. Play safe, use condoms!  
> Word count: 2.717  
> AN: I have some numbers here.
> 
> As of this chapter (25), original words written: 33,133 words  
> As of this chapter (25), rewritten words written: 40,573 words  
> Words added to this story: 7,440 words
> 
> I've added nearly 4 chapters worth of words (the equation being the total amount of words divided by the number of chapters) to this story! 
> 
> I'm doing pretty good and I hope that you all enjoy!
> 
> *~*~*~*

Sighing as she buried her face into her pillow, Ichigo hummed when she heard the front door close after Rangiku. The woman was heading out for a long night with a few of the boys, leaving her alone for the night with Ulquiorra. The last two days the Espada had been very sweet and upfront with her, almost as if he was trying to court her.

 

The dinner and lunch that he had taken her out on had been rather nice. She was looking forward to their night together, hoping that Ulquiorra would finally make a move before he was forced to make the move for him.

 

Sitting up in her bed, Ichigo ran a hand through her still damp hair and fixed her robe to lie around her legs so that it didn’t show anything. Ulquiorra stepped into the bedroom, closing the door behind him and drawing her attention as he closed the door and gazed at her. There was a rich fire in his green eyes, sending a curl of anticipation through her, making the male standing before her smirk as the light flared, green eyes darkening.

 

“Hi there,” she said softly, watching as pale fingers flipped off the lights before a match was struck and the candles they used were lit. They used them late at night most times, but it was nice to use even during the late afternoon and early evening.

 

“You’re rather bouncy today,” Ulquiorra drawled as he moved around the room to light the candles. Ichigo blushed as she watched him close the curtains tightly, making him smile at her. “I hope that you’re not uncomfortable around me.”

 

“No I’m not. I guess that I’m just nervously excited, you can call it,” she admitted, smiling lightly as she shrugged.

 

“Are you? Why would you be so nervously excited?” Ulquiorra asked her, his eyes bright as he sat down on the chair, crossing his legs. He watched the way she blushed again, head dipping down as she played with her robe belt.

 

“I was just thinking about things, that’s all,” Ichigo hummed, getting a low chuckle from her guardian.

 

“I see,” Ulquiorra drawled, his eyes glowing as he once more stood up and walked over to the bed. Reaching out, he tugged her up, Ichigo gazing up at him with wide eyes.

 

“Ulquiorra?” she breathed out, blushing even darker as he drew her closer to him.

 

“Do you trust me not to ever hurt you willingly or let you be hurt by others?” he asked, smoothing a thumb over her cheek and bottom lip. She looked up at him with a soft, shy look, her thoughts flying through her mind.

 

“I do,” Ichigo finally said, smiling when he smiled again, tipping her head back to slide their lips together in a barely there brush. She sighed as her lips tingled under the gentle movements, humming in delight as he firmly settled his lips over hers, just moving them together. Sliding her hands up over his chest, Ichigo purred as Ulquiorra wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing her against his boy.

 

“Ichigo,” Ulquiorra said, cupping her chin as he pulled back from the kiss again. He had to smile softly at the flushed look on her face and her slowly opening eyes, surprised at her softness. “You are so much softer than you usually are.”

 

“I really haven’t changed all that much through the years, Ulquiorra. I just don’t often let someone under my armor,” she admitted, her voice husky. “It’s nice to not be the strong one for once.”

 

“Sometimes we all need to just be the softer one,” Ulquiorra said, dipping down again, greeting her opened mouth with his tongue, dipping into it and tasting the sweetness under the mind of her toothpaste. The kiss was slow, languid, their tongues sliding and tasting as Ichigo moved her hands to bury themselves in surprisingly soft, dark hair, being careful of the horned mask.

 

Ulquiorra growled at finally feeling Ichigo relax fully in his arms, pressed tight against him, the soft curves fitting perfectly against his own. Trailing his hands up and down her back, he purred as a soft mewl escaped her lips, capturing it as his hands cupped her firm ass, drawing her closer to his own body.

 

She moaned again, feeling his hardness rub against her stomach before he pulled her up, making her wrap her legs around his waist. Ichigo gasped as her panty covered heat rubbed over his hard cock, sending heat rushing through her. Ulquiorra smirked slightly and turned to topple them onto the bed, getting a squeak from her.

 

Chuckling softly into the kiss, Ulquiorra pulled away from her lips, trailing his own over Ichigo’s jaw, a low sigh brushing across his mask fragment. Nipping at a spot that got a moan, he trailed his hands over the lean body, finding lean muscles and lush curves under his hands. He had always known that Ichigo was well muscled in her original form, but feeling them along with the new curves was pressing all of the right buttons for him.

 

Drawing his lips even lower, making sure that his mask didn’t scrape over soft skin, he parted her robe over the curve of her full chest, exposing them to the candle light. Lifting his head, the Espada ran his eyes over her chest, using a thumb to tease one dark nipple, his eyes darting up at the gasp that came from her. Smirking, Ulquiorra did it again and lowered his lips to the other nipple, just teasing them both with barely there brushes. Ichigo moaned, her hands tugging at dark hair to get him closer, wanting to feel his mouth on her body.

 

“Ulquiorra,” Ichigo whined at him, eyes watching as he smirked before gently nipping and sucking at her nipple, his hand tweaking and tugging on the other. Ulquiorra purred before he left the pebbled nipples to slid lower, sitting up onto his knees. Tugging his partner up into his lap, her legs on either side of his hips, he slid her robe off fully before he laid her back again, eyes glinting.

 

She was sprawled out before him, skin soft and lightly tanned as it stretched over her well earned, lean muscle. Her legs were spread out on either side of his thighs and hips, looking so very long and strong as they lead up to curvy hips covered in dark green panties.

 

Sliding his hands up her thighs, Ulquiorra purred lowly as he hooked his thumbs in the side of the panties before he slowly pulled them down, sliding them over long legs. Once they were free, he tossed them over his shoulder and trailed his fingers over her legs and thighs, feeling them twitch. Ichigo moaned softly, relaxing into the touches, wrapping her arms around him as he laid out over her once more, his clothes brushing against her skin.

 

They came together once more, their lips and tongues moving against each other as Ichigo worked on Ulquiorra’s shirt, pulling away from the kiss to pull it off of her partner. She sighed as the Espada pressed against her once more, her breasts pushing up against his own flat chest. It was so very different than what she had felt while with Rangiku, who had a larger chest of her own, and from when she had kissed Byakuya and Kenpachi.

 

It was much more intense.

 

Moaning quietly, Ichigo shifted and flipped them over, allowing her to rub up against him. sitting up, she licked her lips and smirked, her eyes glowing as Ulquiorra stared up at her, sliding one hand up to cup a breast. With a soft groan escaping, she rolled her hips, rubbing against the hard length that was still trapped within Ulquiorra’s pants.

 

“Ichigo,” he growled, pressing up into the teasing hips that were rolling over him. A smile danced over her lips, prompting him to flip them back over and slide down her body with lusty dark eyes. Drawing his teeth over her stomach, he smirked at the quiver of the muscles and the wide eyes that gazed down at him. Sliding long fingered hands up her thighs, he moved further down and licked his lips at the sweetness that he could practically taste.

 

Looking up at her once again, Ichigo’s breath hitching in anticipation, he smirked before he shifted and lapped at her core. The yelping moan stroked his ego, pushing him to start to tease her with long laps, sucks, and nips. Ichigo writhed against him as she whimpered, her hands clenching at his hair and mask fragment, her body heating as he worked her over expertly.

 

“Ulquiorra!” she gasped out, her body jerking as she whimpered, gazing dazedly up at the familiar ceiling. Ulquiorra purred and sucked on her clit as he slid a finger into her, playing with her body. The scream and clench of tight muscles as she came drowned out the soft purr as he left the bundle of nerves, lapping up the sweetness.

 

Sitting up and sliding off of the bed, stroking her thighs as she continued to twitch slightly on the bed, he smirked before pulling away. Sliding off his pants, he crawled back onto the bed as Ichigo opened her eyes and arms, drawing him onto her body again. The two moaned as their skin came into contact, heated and lovely.

 

“Just stay relaxed, Ichigo,” he hummed, brushing their lips together as one hand slid down to tease her entrance again, a finger sliding in easily. She mewled before capturing his lips in a deep kiss, tasting herself on them as he worked the finger in and out of her. Adding a second and a third finger, he stretched her open, feeling the way her muscles twitch and open under his touch. He had no urge to hurt her especially since she was a virgin to penetration. “Do you still want me?” he asked in one ear, getting a moan.

 

“Oh gods, yes, please,” she breathed, her eyes dark as she gazed up at him, body moving with the fingers that sent heat through her veins.

 

“Just stay relaxed,” he said, pulling a pillow down to place under her hips with his other hand, pulling his fingers out of her sweet body. He grabbed a jar that he had hidden between the bed and the wall, using the slick oil within to coat his prick to just have a little more slickness going. Grasping his length with his wet hand, he placed it at her entrance as his mouth sealed over a nipple, sucking on it as he gently pressed into her. The soft sound of surprise made him pause in his movements and lift his head, only the tip of his length within her body. “Ichigo?” he asked, holding himself still, waiting to see what needed to be done.

 

“It doesn’t hurt, don’t worry,” she breathed, gazing up at him with wide eyes. “It’s just different.” Taking her word for it after studying her for a few moments, he pressed forward, sinking all the way in much to her delight.

 

Strong legs came up and around his waist, drawing him as deep as she could, dragging a growl out of Ulquiorra. Ichigo raised her hips up and moaned, wanting him to move, feeling so full, stretched and needing him to move.

 

It was more than just fingers, much more intense and she needed more.

 

“Will you please move?” Ichigo whined, rolling her hips and gasping as the move made Ulquiorra shift in her. He chuckled and pressed a kiss to her forehead before he drew back, leaving her feeling empty, aching. The feeling disappeared when he slammed forward, getting a long moan from her, her legs hitching upwards.

 

Taking a moment to stop and settle onto his knees, his hands on her hips. Ulquiorra started to move in a hard and fast pace. He was making his claim and making sure that she would always remember the pleasure of her first time.

 

By the sounds that were coming from Ichigo, he had no doubt that she was very much enjoying the slick friction between them. Feeling her nails scrape down his back hard, Ulquiorra growled and leant down, nipping hard at the top of the curve of her breast as he reached a hand between them. Shifting on his knees, bending one of hers up to her chest he stroked a long finger over her clit as he slammed hard into her. The screech made him snarl ferally and continued to take her as she grabbed onto the headboard to move in time with him.

 

Ichigo’s moans and mewls got louder as her body writhed, tensing and arching before she jerked hard in her climax. It was a hot flash, flaring through her body as her entrance tried to tighten, Ulquiorra’s cock not letting her contract all the way and adding to the pleasure of her climax.

 

Ulquiorra groaned as he pressed into her body once more and came soon after her, his cock twitching as he came. Gasping and panting, they fell limp onto the bed, the Espada pressing his face into her neck as they slowly came down from their high.

 

He chuckled lowly, finally able to concentrate on feeling how their reiatsu was curling around them, the threads stroking together.

 

“Are you feeling fine?” he asked as he shifted, kneeling and gently pulling free of her body, getting a soft sound.

 

“A little sore, but a good kind of sore,” she husked in answer, her voice well used. Ulquiorra smiled and brushed his fingers over her cheek in a gentle touch. Standing up, he frowned at the very light film of blood over his length, before reminding himself that when it came to first times for women and a larger than average partner.

 

“Stay here. I’ll go run a bath for you,” he said, leaning over and pressing a kiss to her forehead. Ichigo laughed softly and smiled as she shifted into a more comfortable position for her, wrinkling her nose at the feel of Ulquiorra’s come slipping out of her. She reached down and pulled the pillow from out of under of her hips, tossing it to the side to be washed later.

 

“I don’t think that I’ll be moving any time soon,” she drawled as she finally stretched her body with a purr. “I’m feeling to damn good to move.”

 

“Good,” Ulquiorra chuckled. Moving into their personal bathroom, he used a washcloth to clean off his groin before turning to fill the deep tub with hot water. Leaving it to fill on its own, he gathered fresh bed sheets from the bathroom cabinet, walking back into the bedroom, finding that ichigo was pulling on her robe.

 

Catching sight of him, she smiled sheepishly. “I didn’t want to lie in the wet spot and I figured that you would want to change the sheets,” she said, blush soft in the candle light. Chuckling, Ulquiorra simply stole a light kiss and started to strip the bed as she cracked the window open to air out the room. “Ulquiorra, you once said that my scent had changed when I had had sex with Rangiku that first time. Can you tell me, did it change again?” she asked, looking to him with a curious look.

 

He sniffed the air before chuckling. “Your scent has indeed changed, but not too much so. You still smell very pure under the scent of our sex,” he said, placing the stripped sheets down to move to her, stroking her cheek with a smile.

 

“You look good when you smile,” she said, leaning up slightly to press a kiss to his lips before winking and heading into the bathroom. Shaking his head in amusement, he made the bed before he followed her, finding Ichigo slipping off her robe once more and stepping into the bath.

 

Ulquiorra growled at the rather arousing sight of his markings on her body before he joined her in the bathtub, pulling her close as they relaxed in the hot water.

  
  


 

 


	27. A Shifting of Life 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Shifting of Life  
> Fandom: Bleach  
> Part: 26  
> Series: A Shifting World  
> Characters/Pairings: Jin/Rukia  
> Warnings: Sex, lots and lots of sex. Play safe, use condoms!  
> Word count: 2,065  
> AN: I still twitch at this chapter. Just the thought of this pairing getting it on...seriously. 
> 
> *~*~*~*

Sliding her bedroom door shut behind her, Rukia looked down at the seemingly innocent letter that sat upon her desk before she picked it up. Flipping it over, she split the wax seal that held it closed, smirking as she read over the neatly written words on the paper before she closed it.

 

It seemed as her invitation to work with the Bounds was well received, most likely for their own reasons. It still worked well for her and them after all.

 

Picking up Sode no Shirayuki from where she rested on her stand, Rukia slipped her into her obi and left her room, heading for her patrol of the edges of west Karakura Town. The meeting that Jin had sent her would fall into just the right time for her to have a long break in the same area that she would be in.

 

It would seem to work with them.

 

“I need you to tell Byakuya-san that I am going to do my human world patrol and will be home tomorrow if he asks for me,” Rukia told the servant who was waiting for her outside of her door. “No one is to enter my room while I am gone.”

 

“Yes, Kuchiki-sama,” the young woman said, bowing deeply. As soon as Rukia walked past her, she glared after her before she continued on with her usual chores, hating when she got pulled off of them. Especially for no good reason like waiting for Rukia to do whatever she needed to do before telling her what she wanted.

 

Leaving the Seireitei behind, Rukia made the first sweep of her assigned area in Karakura town, finding that it was mostly quiet outside of some easily taken cared of hollows. That was fine for her, leaving her to land near the cabin that was usually abandoned on her patrols. She found that it had been lit up, welcoming her there. Walking up to the door, she knocked and waited for Jin to answer it.

 

When he opened the door, the large male ran his eyes over her. “I wasn’t really expecting you to be so small,” Jin drawled, standing in the doorway with a smirk. Rukia drew her own eyes over the big man, taking in the silver hair that had been cropped short, over the red eyes that gazed back at her, down to the strong jaw and lush mouth. That mouth drew the eye as did the well built body that was dressed to its best advantage.

 

“Just because I happen not to be taller doesn’t mean that I’m not able to do what I need to do,” Rukia drawled as Jin stepped back and let her into the cabin. “Are you really willing to work with me on what I’m planning on doing?” she asked him.

 

“I would not have replied to your letter if I wasn’t willing to at least listen to you,” Jin stated, leading her to the sitting area and sitting down. “Now, tell me, why do you wish for this Ichigo person to be disgraced? Or was it just taken out?”

 

“There’s something that I should tell you first. She used to be a he but someone changed her gender about a month ago,” Rukia told him, shifting. “Now, ever since Ichigo, while still a male mind you, came to save me from my execution, he has been the main focus of everyone's attention. It’s rather disheartening when I go from able to find partners for my nights out, even just to hang out, but now it’s almost as if I don’t exist with her around.” She sneered. “Now that he is now a she, she takes up even more of their attention. It’s not right. It’s as if they don’t know that she’s not the saint that everyone seems to think that she is.”

 

Jin raised an eyebrow at her before he stood up from his chair and moved over to a cabinet. Pulling out a squat crystal glass, he poured some whiskey into it before he turned around, the glass in hand. He felt that there were a few things that she wasn’t telling him at the moment, but that was just fine with him for the moment.

 

He wasn’t going to tell her all of his plans for what he had planned for the Soul Society and his Bounts after all.

 

“Do you have any pictures of this Ichigo so I can find the right person?” he asked her, sipping at the drink, leaning against the wall, ankles crossing.

 

“Not on me unfortunately. I’ll be able to send you an updated picture soon though,” Rukia said, once more running her eyes over the strong body that was on display before her. Jin smirked, his crimson eyes flashing as he chuckled. He could see the spark of lust that flared in her violet eyes and wanted to see just how good she would be in bed.

 

He knew he wasn’t above using sex to get what he wanted from someone, and not once had his bed partners complained about his technique. On top of that, it had been awhile since he had scratched that particular itch.

 

“That will be fine. Do you have anything else to do tonight?” he asked as he placed his cup to the side, reaching up to tug his tie loose.

 

“I have some time for a while. Do you have something in mind to fill my time?” she asked, watching as he dropped the tie onto the floor.

 

“Indeed,” he drawled, standing straight before heading for the only other door, kicking off his shoes and dropping his clothes as he moved.

 

Rukia pulled her zanpakuto free from her obi and followed after him, placing the weapon by the door. She paused just inside of the door, her eyes adjusting to the low light, allowing her to take in the now naked body before her. Jin was indeed as built as his clothes suggested, strong but not truly over muscled. She could tell that it came from long hours of training with his weapons and in various styles of fighting. There was very little body hair and his cock was a good size, already curling up towards his stomach.

 

Rukia was quick to pull of her own clothes, dropping them into a puddle by the door.

 

Jin ran his eyes over her nude body, admitting that as small as she was, she was still very well endowed for her size. Her breasts were perky with dark nipples that were already hard in anticipation. Leaning back against the footboard of the bed, he started to stroke his cock, swiping his pointer finger over the tip of it.

 

“Come here, Rukia-san, and show me just how good you are. And please don’t worry, I do plan on making you scream. Multiple times if I can get away with it,” Jin drawled. Rukia smirked and strolled over before she knelt down before him, curling her hands around his cock. Her mouth opened, allowing her to snake her tongue out and swipe it over the tip.

 

Shifting so that she could run her tongue over the underside of Jin’s cock, she smirked up at him as she took the tip into her mouth. Using all of the skill that she had cultivated over her sexually active years, Rukia worked her mouth over the hard length, enjoying the sweet taste on her tongue. Jin tasted of his power, making her moan as her body clenched in need, her core already wet and twitching.

 

Sliding down until her nose was pressed against his stomach, she swallowed around the tip before humming as a strong hand buried itself into her hair, his hips pumping, sliding his cock in and out of her mouth.

 

Fucking Rukia’s mouth for a few long moments, Jin tugged her off of his prick before he used her hair to pull her up. Rubbing at her friction swollen bottom lip, he leered before he picked her up and tossed her onto the bed, watching her sprawl out on the bed after bouncing a bit.

 

“Spread your legs for me and show me your cunt,” he instructed her, crimson eyes sparkling.

 

She barely kept her scowl back from him, ignoring the term that he had used for the moment, allowing her lust to continue to build instead. Spreading her legs, she smirked at him, stroking a hand down over her stomach. Sliding it lower still, she moaned lowly as she found her clit and started to play with it until she was breathily mewling. Jin watched with a smirk dancing on his lips as she moved her fingers down to slide them into her own entrance with slick sounds.

 

“Remove your fingers from yourself,” he drawled, watching as she did so, kneeling onto the bed. Reaching out to her, he pressed his own fingers into her body, using three to stroke into her hole, watching her moan and arch up into it. “Enjoy that huh? Has it really been a long time for you?”

 

“No,” Rukia moaned in return. She rocked with a gasp as Jin slammed his fingers deep. “It’s been a while though.”

 

“I see,” he drawled, removing his fingers from her. He slid them lower, using the wetness on them to play with the ring of muscles that he found there. Rukia shivered as he worked the finger into her ass, stretching the muscles with a leer. “I think that I shall take both of your holes, make it so that you are nice and sore by the time that I’m done.”

 

“So good,” she moaned lowly, writhing as his other hand came into play, the man working both entrances with knowledgeable fingers. Pulling his fingers free from her body after making sure that she was as wet as he wanted her, he smirked and flipped her over, pushing her down so that her hips were tilted up. Grasping his prick, he placed it at her wet hole before he pushed into her with one smooth stroke. Rukia moaned, arched her back as her body twitched and tightened around his length.

 

Smirking down at her, he held himself still, staying in her body to enjoy the twitching, bending over slightly and grabbing a bottle of lube. Sitting up on his knees again, he rocked his hips slightly, feeling her clench even as he flipped the lid open and poured a generous amount of it onto her ass. Tossing the bottle aside for the moment, he rolled his hips and pressed two fingers into her ass as he started to move, rocking in and out of her twitching body with quick, hard thrusts.

 

Her sounds and writing body coaxed Jin into taking her harder, continuing his thrusting through her fist climax, Rukia mewling and shuddering under the near painful pleasure. He continued to take her through a second climax, one that roared through her body before he found his own peak, his fingers still buried in her ass.

 

Pulling his length free of her limp body along with his finger, Jin sat back on the bed, crossing his legs as he watched Rukia moan and sprawl out. “Fuck. You weren’t kidding about making sure that I’m going to be sore were you?”

 

“No, I wasn’t,” the Bount chuckled at her, smug at just how boneless she already was. He knew that he would be ready to fuck her again in a few minutes and was hoping that she would be to.

 

Either way, he knew that she would enjoy what he had planned for her.

 

“So when do we start with this?” Rukia asked him, flipping over onto her back to stare at him.

 

“I’ll need you to give me a couple of weeks to plan things out with my people and I’ll send you another letter with the plan,” Jin stated. He eyed the way that his cum trickled out of her. “For now, I need you to play nice and keep out of trouble.”

 

“That I can do,” she promised, looking at the wall clock to check the time before smirking. “I have a couple more hours before I have to shower and go back on patrol. What do you want to do now?” she asked.

 

Jin’s leer was enough answer for her.

  
  


 

 


	28. A Shifting of Life 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Shifting of Life  
> Fandom: Bleach  
> Part: 27  
> Series: A Shifting World  
> Characters/Pairings: Byakuya, Renji, Rukia  
> Warnings: Some sexual situations but not a whole lot.  
> Word count: 1,378  
> AN: Yes, I am back to rewriting and reposting these beautiful things! I hope you enjoy the next three chapters and do feel free to drop me a note pouting at me for taking so damn long. 
> 
> I am sorry about that but life has been insanely busy and I'm trying to finish off Breath Unto Me and figuring out just how long my Bleach/Naruto story is going to take. I have no idea really since I do have a few points to hit.
> 
> Not to mention I need to get through the side story to the damn thing. Which is fun. Really. 
> 
> Anyways, I hope you all enjoy. 
> 
> *~*~*~*

Sitting at his rather filled desk, gazing out of one of his windows, eyes taking in the Kuchiki grounds, Byakuya took a slow, deep breath and picked up his tea cup. The lightly sweetened tea slid hotly over his tongue and down his throat, soothing his nerves. He continued to wait for his younger sister to come down the stairs from her late morning nap, tired from her long patrol.

 

He could just barely feel her reiatsu moving about in her bedroom.

 

He had uncovered so many lies that she had told, the help of several people coming in handy, and he was being forced to talk to her about it. Discovering just how many people she had lied to or told half truths had been staggering, more so when he had learned how much of it had been to hurt Ichigo’s friendships. Sighing, Byakuya looked up when the door to his home office opened, smiling at Renji and getting a smile from him in return.

 

“Do you have the files for me?” he asked. Renji held up a thick file folder with a nod.

 

“Yeah. I also put out a request for everyone to write out a list of any message and invite that they had sent to Ichigo through Rukia. Or even just a butterfly that she had responded to instead of him,” Renji stated, sitting down next to the other man as he started to go through the reports.

 

“Iba-fukutaicho asked her to attend one of his birthday bashes?” Byakuya asked in surprise.

 

“Yeah, a few times. The first time was when Ichi-chan had just turned 17 and had sent a gift for him from the human world. I’m sure that you’ve seen that charm that he fiddles with sometimes,” Renji said, shrugging. “Since all of this came out, he’s not so disappointed with her now, but he is pissed at Rukia. He’s putting their new recruits through their paces and then some.”

 

“That sounds about right for one of your friends,” Byakuya teased him, getting a snort of laughter. “If you do not mind waiting, I need to speak with my sister about this. Can you wait for me in my room?” he asked. Renji nodded.

 

“Not a problem. Just come get me when you’re done,” he said, stealing a quick kiss from his lover. He slipped out of the back door of the office just as Rukia knocked on the main door.

 

“Enter,” Byakuya called. He spread the reports out before him as Rukia opened the door and walked in, closing it behind her. “Sit down.”

 

“You asked to see me?” she asked as she sat down before the desk. Catching sight of the papers that were sitting before her brother, she winced at them.

 

“Yes, I did. I was not able to call you earlier due to your patrol schedule and the fact that I still had to gather all of the needed information but I have it now. I have also spoken with Unohana-sou-taicho about this. She has agreed that I may keep this within the clan,” Byakuya stated as he leant forward onto his arms. “For now.”

 

“What are you going to do?” Rukia asked, quickly squashing her anger down, gazing down at the ground.

 

“I will get to your punishment eventually,” Byakuya drawled as he looked down at the papers again. “From what Renji has discovered, there are more than a few invitations that you have forgotten to hand over. I do not believe that you were ever taught to be so rude to friends and allies.”

 

“I must have missed that particular lesson,” Rukia retorted, shutting up quickly at the cold look that Byakuya leveled at her.

 

“You were purposefully rude to Ichigo-chan when she was a he, and you have been exceedingly rude since she has become a she. More so when you didn’t relay my invitation,” he continued, pinning her to the spot with a disappointed look on his face. “You have done nothing but insulted me and the Kuchiki name with this fiasco.”

 

“I’m sorry, Byakuya-san,” Rukia whispered, feeling her anger flare up once more, hiding it by turning her eyes down to her lap.

 

“Beyond the various invitations and messages that you never passed onto him...her, you also insulted and verbally attacked Ichigo-chan’s personal guardian and ally,” he snarled. He narrowed his eyes when she watched her flinch, her entire body jerking.

 

“But…! He’s an Arrancar! An enemy!” she yelled. “An Espada at that and one of Aizen’s most trusted. He could have been sent to spy on us!”

 

“Silence,” Byakuya snarled, Rukia slamming her mouth shut, her eyes wide. “You keep accusing Ulquiorra-san with no proof on your side. Again, you have insulted me. But not only me, but Ichigo-chan and Unohana-sou-taicho. She knew that there was a slim chance that he was a spy sent to watch us, and has had the second divisions 3ed seat following after him.”

 

“Oh, I see.”

 

“And Ichigo-chan does not sleep when she has gone to bed with reiatsu around her and it leaves her range,” Byakuya continued, collecting the papers together. “So if he ever left the house, she would know when he did so. And so would Matsumoto-fukutaicho.”

 

“I see,” Rukia breathed, banking her anger into a shimmer finally, hiding it from her brother as she shifted.

 

“Now, as to your punishment,” he started, gazing at her with cool eyes. “I have spoken with Jushiro-taicho to help me with this, along with Ise-taicho, since for a while you will be helping out in the Fourth Division. You will do whatever they put you to work and you will not complain about it. At all. For every message and invitation,” Byakuya drawled, watching her eyes widen in realization, “you will work for them for a work. I will give you the exact number on Monday. For the next three days, you are to continue with your usual schedule. Come Tuesday, you will report to the Fourth.”

 

“Yes, Byakuya-sama,” Rukia said quietly, hands clenched. “Is that all?”

 

“No. I will also be giving you a list,” he said, lacing his fingers together as he stared at her. “I want you to write a proper letter of apology to each and every name on that list. Ichigo-chan’s name will be top on that list. You will also be under a watch, so I suggest that you start to toe the line.”

 

“Yes, Byakuya-sama,” Rukia said quietly, nodding.

 

“Good. You are dismissed.” Watching her stand and leave quickly, he smoothed his haori down as she closed the door behind her. Standing up, Byakuya left through the back door himself, heading for his bedroom and his lover. Stopping a maid on the way, he told her that he was not to be disturbed for the rest of the day unless it was from a select list of people.

 

Walking through the sitting area of his bedroom suite, he paused to enjoy the sight that greeted him.

 

Renji had pulled his hair loose, allowing it to fall around his face as he laid out on the bed. One hand was resting behind his head and the other was between his legs, slowly stroking his hard length. Byakuya soon found himself undressed, gasping his lover’s name as he rode him through their climaxes before he collapsed onto the strong chest.

 

“You feel better?” Renji asked, chuckling when Byakuya hummed, stroking a finger over the red welts that were slowly coming up from where his nails had dragged over tanned skin.

 

“Very much so,” Byakuya hummed, feeling a slow, smug smile slide over his lips. His nose wrinkled as his lover slipped out of his body with a wet pop, feeling cum slide down from the stretched ring of muscle.

 

“That’s good because Ichigo-chan wants to come over sometime and wonder around your gardens again,” Renji chuckled.

  
“You know that she can if she wants to,” came the hum as the noble sat up with a smirk. “For now, I have plans for you that include making more of a mess on this bed.”

 

 


	29. A Shifting of Life 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: A Shifting of Life  
> Fandom: Bleach  
> Part: 28  
> Series: A Shifting World  
> Characters/Pairings: Renji, Ichigo  
> Warnings: Sexual situations  
> Word count: 1,768  
> AN: Sex, of a sort, between Renji and Ichigo. Hurrah! 
> 
> My friend giggled at me complaining that my face was red while rewriting this darn it!
> 
> *~*~*~*

Blushing ever so slightly as she slid the shoji door closed behind her, Ichigo shook her head and stepped down from the porch that wrapped around the back of Byakuya’s personal wing. Stepping onto the garden path, she paused to look at her sneakers before pulling them and her socks off, putting them onto the porch until she left.

 

When she had come over to wander around Byakuya’s personal garden, she had been reminded that to get into it, she had to go through his personal bedroom. She had caught him as he had pulled on a robe, Renji leading her through the doors. Despite the blush that now sat on her cheeks, Ichigo had to admit that he did look good post-sex, especially with rumpled hair and flushed skin.

 

Taking a slow breath, Ichigo walked down the path towards the koi pond, knowing that it would be the most peaceful area. Along with that, the koi pond would afford her the most privacy to think in peace. She wanted to think about what she was going through, not all of it unpleasant if not slightly confusing.

 

Finding the pond easily, she flopped down onto the ground and wiggled her toes into the lush grass that she sat on.

 

Leaning back onto her hands, she gazed up at the sky as she thought about her first night with Ulquiorra. It had been three interesting days she had officially lost her virginity, and during those three days, they had explored her sexuality.

 

Somehow, and she didn’t want to know how, the Espada had gotten toys and gotten her to allow him to use them on her. She had wondered why she had never gotten any sooner while she had been a he. She had also felt just how good anal intercourse could feel, surprising how it had felt as a woman and wondered just how it would feel as a male.

 

Shifting as her body reacted to her thoughts, Ichigo sat up again and rubbed at her face with a groan.

 

“Man, am I’m becoming a slut,” she moaned, jumping when Renji chuckled lowly behind her.

 

“I really kind of doubt that fact,” Renji drawled, smirking as she glared up at him from over her shoulder. “Why do you think that?”

 

“With the way that I’ve been acting since all of this started?” she asked, watching as Renji joined her on the ground next to her.

 

“Quite frankly, Ichigo, with everything that has been going on, I’m surprised that you haven’t screwed around before just for the release that sex offers,” he said, brown eyes turning to him as one eyebrow lifted. “You have been on the front line of this war since day one. You’ve been constantly training and waiting for the next attack. And you’re still amazingly young. Making out with a few people, and sleeping with Rangiku-chan and Ulquiorra-san isn’t going to make you a slut any time soon.”

 

“Yeah, thanks,” Ichigo said, flushing at the way that Renji’s voice rumbled through her. She had never really listened to it, always to busy as Renji had pointed out, but now that she had a good idea of what she truly enjoyed in a partner, it made her shiver.

 

“For what?” Renji asked, surprised even as his eyes swept over the lean frame that was sprawled out on the ground. He had to smile as she shifted to hide her chest with her arms, catching a glimpse of the budding nipples hidden by her shirt.

 

“For telling me that I’m not a slut, no matter what I do. I know how it works here but in the human world, there’s a double standard between males and females,” Ichigo responded. She shifted as she felt the heat course through her at the look that slid over her.

 

“Double standard?” Renji asked him, dragging his mind back from the fantasy of what he wanted to do to the woman before him.

 

“Yeah, a double standard. If a guy sleeps around with a bunch of chicks, or even a mix, they’re the man, just that awesome,” Ichigo said, tapping her fingers on her calf. “But if a girl sleeps with a guy, especially only a few dates, she’s easy. A slut. Or if she’s self confident about herself and her body, she gets paid for it, a whore.”

 

“Well that’s just idiotic,” Renji snorted, Ichigo nodding her head.

 

“It’s damn near everywhere in the world. Hell, even gay men and women are considered easy,” Ichigo sighed. “With woman who are lesbian, there is a thought that runs among certain people, mostly bigots and assholes, that she just needs to be screwed good by a guy to get right. Could be said so for a gay man but by the opposite sex.”

 

“I’m suddenly very glad that most memories are forgotten when a soul comes here,” Renji sighed.

 

“Most memories?” Ichigo asked, looking curious.

 

“Yeah. A lot of memories about your living life is forgotten when you come here. All except the most important ones, ones that make who you are stay. Some souls can actually keep them all,” Renji explained.

 

“I see,” Ichigo mused, her eyes dark as she once more leant back on her hands. Renji took in the way the simple skirt settled around her legs, loose about her legs, and the way the peasant top was falling off of her shoulders, exposing the dark green bra straps. “So, are you going to just stare at me all day or are you going to actually do something?”

 

Renji jerked as his mind was brought back to the present, his eyes wide as she stared at him with curious eyes, waiting patiently for his answer. A slow smirk spreading over his lips, the tattooed male reached out and pulled her into his lap, curling the other hand over the curve of her hip.

 

“I think I just might do that,” he rumbled, watching as a flush of arousal spread over her cheeks, her eyes falling shut as a smile curled on her lips.

 

“Oh? Is that so?” Ichigo purred, wrapping her arms around his neck as she pressed close to him, shifting into a better position. Renji chuckled and brushed their lips together, feeling her breath out a quiet moan, pressing up into the kiss. Lapping at her lips, he growled in delight as she opened her mouth and greeted his tongue with her own tongue as she rocked just slightly.

 

Groaning as she rubbed up against his half hard length, Renji shifted her around so that she was straddling his hips. He slid a hand upwards and swiped a thumb over one peaked nipple through the shirt that she was wearing. The gasping moan was followed by a press up into his hand, adding to his own pleasure as he worked on tasting her fully. With their tongues sliding and pressing against each other, Renji slipped one hand down to pull her shirt up enough to slid under her shirt and bra, groaning at the way that her breast filled his hand.

 

Ichigo pulled away from the kiss with a gasp, lips full and red as Renji chuckled and tweaked her nipple as his other hand slid up her skirt. Sliding it between her thighs, he smirked at her breathy moan as he stroked over her wet crotch, feeling her hips press downwards into the touch.

 

“Renji,” she whined, feeling his hand stroke over her again before his fingers inched into her underwear. Gasping, she shuddered hard as one finger slid into her, her body twitching around it with a groan. “Move that damn finger would you?” she growled, the man teasing her chuckling lowly.

 

“Whatever you say, Ichi-chan,” he drawled, suddenly flipping them over so that she was under him, his mouth dipping down to suck on the nipple that he exposed with a twitch of his hand. Kneeling between her legs, suckling on the nipple that he had caught, he started to work his finger in and out of her, listening to her vocalize her pleasure. Pulling away just slightly, he smirked as he brushed his lips against the budded nipple. “Beautiful,” he breathed, ignoring the way her fingernails were digging painfully into his shoulders.

 

Mewling, she rocked her hips upwards into the finger with a shivering, feeling a second finger slide in with the first, groaning as they started to move. They were thick and calloused from all of his swordwork, adding something more to the movements. Ichigo bit her bottom lip around the scream as Renji’s thumb found her clit and stroked over it in time with his fingers. Arching up and  moaning, she clung to him as one thigh pressed up between his legs and against his hard length.

 

“Ichigo,” Renji groaned, shifting up to breath into one ear as his hips rocked against her thigh, his fingers working hard to bring her pleasure. The two gasped and moaned as their climaxes built and spread through their bodies before breaking over them. Ichigo arched and once more bit her lip around her scream as she shuddered, Renji pressing hard against her thigh, jerking through his own climax.

 

“Damn. I was not expecting to do that today,” she breathed. Renji chuckled as he shifted and cleaned them up with a piece of cloth that he had in his pocket before he tucked Ichigo’s clothing back into place. Sitting down, he pulled her into his lap again, feeling her relax and settle into his body.

 

“So, are ya feeling better?” he asked, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

 

“Oh yes. You helped me with that amazingly well,” Ichigo sighed as her eyes closed, a smile on her lips.

 

“Good. Is your mind settled down now?” Renji asked, getting a nod. “Anything else you want to ask?”

 

“Will Byakuya be pissed about what you did with me?” she asked him, Renji chuckling.

 

“He told me to go sooth your mind, and if a chance to touch you came up,” Renji said, trailing a hand down over her side, “I was to jump at the chance and enjoy it.”

 

“Oh, you did and so did I,” Ichigo chuckled, eyes blinking a few times. “Can I use your shower before I head home?” she asked.

 

“Yeah, I’m sure that Byakuya won’t mind,” Renji chuckled, getting a smile from Ichigo as she relaxed and dozed in his arms.

  
  


 

 


	30. A Shifting of Life 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (For this site, this is a new chapter. Old story, new chapter.)
> 
> Title: A Shifting of Life  
> Fandom: Bleach  
> Part: 29  
> Series: A Shifting World  
> Characters/Pairings: Ichigo, Mizuiro, Isshin, Yuzu, Karin, Mizuiro, Keigo, Urahara, Jinta, Ururu, Tessai, Orihimi, Sado, Uryu  
> Warnings: Not a whole lot. Some talk about therapy, ect  
> Word count: 1,498  
> AN: I had to do some math. As of this chapter, chapter 29, I have added a grand total of 8,561 words to this story and made it so much smoother.
> 
> I'm rather happy with myself despite the fact that it's taking forever and a day to get it all done. I'm sorry about the length of time it's taking but I am trying to write other things for you guys! I can't exactly stop writing and rewriting the other stories after all. :P Which sucks but it has to happen. 
> 
> So I hope you enjoy this new round of rewrites! 
> 
> *~*~*~*

Smiling up at Ulquiorra, Ichigo picked up her bags of clothes and waited for the gate to the human world to open to let her through. She had gotten permission to physically go visit her family and friends while Urahara moved his research to the shoten. Apparently he had better equipment there.

 

“I’ll be back in a few days. A week at the most, promise,” she said, getting a quirk of his lips in return.

 

“But what am I to do while you are gone?” Ulquiorra asked, getting a low laugh from his companion.

 

“You could do your paperwork and indulge in screwing around with a cute guy?” Ichigo suggested, getting a snort as the Espada shook his head in amusement. “Behave while I’m gone?”

 

“I shall strive to do so,” Ulquiorra said as the gate opened behind her.

 

Grabbing the other bag, Zangetsu already perched on her back, Ichigo winked at him before walking into the gate, feeling the oddness of traveling between the two worlds slide over her. For the last week, she had been alternating her time between Renji, Byakuya, Ulquiorra, and Yoruichi; she had learned, thought, and spoke about things that had been bothering her. Byakuya and Renji both had been a great help in getting her thoughts out while training with Ulquiorra and Yoruichi had helped her get over everything else while regaining her balance.

 

It had been quite refreshing and she felt settled.

 

Landing lightly on her feet in the underground training room of Urahara’s shoten, she hummed and allowed her bags to drop to the ground as her father greeted her with a bright smile on his face. He held her body up. As he had told her, it had indeed changed with her rather unwanted sex change and it looked as if Yuzu had dressed her since the outfit was girlish despite the fact that it was with pants.

 

“Hey there, dad,” Ichigo greeted, getting a strong one armed hug from the large man before she slipped into her body. She stretched out the kinks and oddness of being in her physical body before she fixed her clothes so that they sat on her body correctly. “It feels good, really, to be back in the human world,” she finally said, getting a smile from Isshin.

 

“It is so good to see you, kid,” Isshin replied, finally getting a proper hug from his daughter, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close to him with a sigh.

 

“I missed you being around to, seriously,” Ichigo sighed, burying her nose into his neck with a sigh. His scent was spicy, adding something to his natural attractiveness to anyone not his children. To them, it was pure comfort and reminders of good days.

 

“We’ve missed you to. I missed you.” Isshin squeezed her gently, getting a squeak from his child before he pulled away and smiled down at her. “Come on. There’s a few people who want to talk with you, sweetheart.”

 

“What’s up with the nicknames now?” Ichigo asked him teasingly, grabbing her bags, Isshin taking them with a smug smirk as she huffed.

 

“I can now get away with it,” he said, leading the way up the ladder, helping her up it before he helped her out of the entrance, putting her bags down. Ichigo just rolled her eyes as she tugged her pants back up, heading to where she could feel everyone waiting for her.

 

“Hey there,” she greeted, pausing in the doorway as she smiled at everyone who was sitting at the table. Tatsuki waved from her spot, her leg still wrapped tight from an earlier accident, Sado smiling next to her. Uryu was on his other side, his glasses flashing as he shifted to hide the blush that was spreading over his cheeks. Yuzu and Karin were standing nearby and looking very happy indeed to have Ichigo back, both bouncing on the balls of their feet. Urahara was smiling as he stood next to Jinta, Ururu, and Tessai, all of whom were looking to be in varying states of shock. Mizuiro and Keigo both smiled at him, sitting across from Sado, Tatsuki, and Uryu.

 

There was one person who did surprise Ichigo by being there at all. Orihime. She was standing there, looking rather unsure about being there at all. Ichigo raised an eyebrow at her, trying to figure just why she was there. Especially after their last meeting.

 

“Uh, hey, Ichigo. I...just wanted to say that I’m very sorry about everything that I did and said that hurt you the last time we talked,” Orihime started softly. Ichigo still stared at her. “Tatsuki and the others talked to me about what I did and why it was so wrong, and hurtful to you, and all of your possible relationships.”

 

“Tell me then, why did you do it at all?” Ichigo asked, crossing her arms and staring at Orihime. Everyone there could see just how much Ichigo had grown in the last few weeks since she had been turned into a female. She was a lot more confident with herself and everything around her.

 

“I actually don’t know why I did it. I just know that I haven’t really been thinking very straight since my brother died,” Orihime admitted.

 

“It’s going to take a lot of time for you to make it all up to me, if I’m ever able to forgive you for what you did. I do suggest that you seek some therapy,” Ichigo finally said, shaking her head. “For now, I want to say hello to everyone who came to greet me.”

 

“I understand. And I think I will,” she said, leaving the shoten with a shallow bow.

 

Yuzu and Karin finally rushed forward, wrapping their arms around their now sister’s waist with happy smiles. Ichigo hummed and returned their embrace, burying her nose into Karin’s hair, feeling all of her past stress just melt off of her. Taking in the dark chocolate scent of her sister as Yuzu sniffed and squeezed her waist harder, Ichigo sighed softly.

 

“I have missed you two so much,” she said into Karin’s hair.

 

“We missed you too, Ichi-chan. Don’t go and disappear on us for so long next time,” Yuzu said, squeezing Ichigo again.

 

“I promise I won’t.” Pulling away from the two young girls, she stroked her thumbs over their cheeks with a smile. “Come on, let me say hi to the others.”

 

“All right,” the twins chirped together, making Ichigo shake her head. Stepping back, they watched as Mizuiro and Tatsuki came up to greet him. The three exchanged hugs and words, their eyes glowing with their happiness at finally getting back together. When they sat down, Keigo happily bounded up to her, hauling into a tight hug, getting a quiet giggle.

 

“Hey there, Keigo,” Ichigo drawled as she was once more put down onto her feet. “Ikkaku-kun said that he’s gonna be slammed this weekend with a bunch of new recruits. But is he planning on coming to see ya as soon as he can,” she told him, getting a bright smile.

 

“He’s using you as a messenger huh?” Keigo teased, getting a huff and a roll of her eyes.

 

“Yeah, but his poor hell butterfly is being worked so hard that he couldn’t send it,” she teased, Keigo moving to sit down again. Ruffling Jinta’s hair before she kissed Ururu on her cheek, Ichigo knelt down and hugged Ishida, pressing a kiss to his cheek, leaving a light pink lip gloss lip mark behind. “Hey there, Ishida,” she said, flopping into Sado’s lap, the large man automatically wrapping his arms around her waist.

 

“Hello, Ichigo-san,” Uryu said, fixing his glasses as he blushed slightly, Sado smiling down at his still somewhat new lover. Ichigo watched with curious eyes as Sado reached out and brushed a bang back behind Uryu’s ear, smirking.

 

“So when did you two finally get together? And what finally got you into bed?” she asked, everyone turning to stare at her, Ichigo staring back. “What? It’s not all that often that Sado actually touches someone, so it’s a rather obvious question to ask.”

 

“Sometimes I forget that you are much more observant than what you show,” Ishida drawled, getting a smirk.

 

“Early evening yesterday,” Sado replied, Ichigo smiling up at him.

 

“I’m really glad that you two got together finally. You two deserve some happiness,” she stated, settling in to catch up with everyone. Urahara updated them all on where he was with turning Ichigo back into a male, while everyone else talked about what she was going to do once that happened.

 

She ended up tucked between Sado and Uryu, blushing most of the time as Sado chuckled into one ear, Uryu watching with a smug smirk and dark eyes.

  
  


 


End file.
